The Water and the Earth
by Agest
Summary: After the events of the first Golden Sun game, "The Water and the Earth" picks up the tale of Issac and Mia (as well as Garet and Ivan) where it left off and tells their story as they attempt to prevent the lighting of the last two lighthouses. Issac and Mia might end up discovering something between them that could change their lives. Mudshipping. Issac/Mia PoV. Complete
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to my mudshipping story about Issac and Mia after the Venus Lighthouse. I plan to update this story biweekly or weekly as time permits and I'm having a lot of fun writing it so I hope you enjoy!

How to read dialogue in my stories:

- "Quote" marks means someone is speaking

- _Italics_ indicate thoughts

Legal Stuff:

- I don't own Golden Sun or the affiliate characters

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CHAPTER 1

The ocean was a vast plain of endless water, sparkling in the midafternoon as if every drop composing it was a miniature diamond, reflecting the brilliance of the sun's rays.

"Its beauty is truly unmatched by anything else in this world isn't it?" Mia asked Issac as strands of her gorgeous cerulean hair danced around her face in the breeze.

Issac nodded in response. "It's amazing that such a thing can even exist and that it stretches endlessly before falling off into oblivion. I don't think I've ever seen something so…vast."

Mia turned her head to look at the blonde boy leaning on the ship's railing next to her and let out a giggle. "I forgot you used to live so far inland and never got to see the ocean until recently."

"You're right Mia. It is a most wondrous sight to behold. I'm glad I finally had the chance to see it," Issac commented, turning to watch Mia, who was looking out at the waves again with a content smile on her face.

"It's different out here you know? Back in Imil the ocean was also pretty, but this ocean is just as wonderful, even if it's not quite the same," Mia explained. "In Imil we would see ice floating on the water and watch as snow fell into the waves and became part of the ocean once again. It's one of those sights you have to see to believe. I'll have to show it to you sometime after this is all over."

"I'd like that," Issac told her.

She smiled and looked back to him before continuing. "I'm glad I was there the first time you saw the ocean Issac. It reminds me of my amazement when I was little."

Issac cocked his eyebrow questioningly, prompting her to continue.

Mia didn't disappoint him. "I could tell you were feeling the same sense of wonder I did back then. You had a dreamy look on your face as if you were mesmerized by the waves rippling into shore. I felt that same captivation and spent hours watching the ocean when I was a child," she explained. "I love the ocean. It's very relaxing to watch and let your troubles melt away."

"That's one of the things I'm growing to like about the night watches on this ship you know," Issac explained to her. "The ocean is very calming and helps me organize my thoughts from the day. It's not like we ever get attacked by anything anyway," he added.

Adopting a more playful tone Mia disagreed. "Well I don't know about you, but I remember being attacked by one of those absolutely ferocious jellyfish monsters a few weeks back."

Playing along with her, Issac said, "Oh no! Whatever did you do to save yourself from it?"

Mia let out a laugh and replied. "I froze it of course."

Issac smiled. "Now that's a satisfying picture. I can just imagine you picking up the frozen jellyfish and tossing back into the water Mia."

"Oh no, just tossing it overboard like that would be wasteful Issac," Mia added with a mischievous grin.

"What's that supposed to mean?" A confused Issac asked her.

"You know that seafood stew we had last week…" Mia began to say before being cut off by a loud voice behind the two of them.

Issac's face visibly paled and Garet interjected from behind them, "I came over here to tell you two lovebirds to stop staring into space and help Ivan with navigation. I suppose it's a good thing I did so now I know not to touch any of Mia's cooking in the future," he said in a thoughtful tone. "I'll be in my room if you need me," Garet added before heading off.

Both Issac and Mia felt a slight blush come to their faces, embarrassed by Garet's most recent habit of calling them "lovebirds." A short silence between them was interrupted when Mia asked, "Do you think he knows I was only kidding or is he really going to actually try to cook for himself now?"

Issac smiled at her words and replied, "Trust me Mia, even if you put random pieces of monsters in our food it would probably still taste better than some of the stuff he made before you came along."

"I'm not sure if that's a complement to my cooking or an insult to Garet's," Mia said with a slight smile.

"I'd say it's a bit of both," Issac replied while returning her smile. "In any event, Garet is actually right. I should go help Ivan with the navigation."

"I'll go prepare dinner then," Mia told him.

"No jellyfish right?" Issac asked her in a teasing tone.

"No jellyfish. I promise," Mia said back as her smile widened and she headed for the interior of the ship.

"I'll see you at dinner then Mia," Issac called out to her retreating form before walking over to where Ivan was standing. Mia answered him with a wave of her arm and disappeared into the cabins.

_She sure has an interesting sense of humor…_Issac thought as he trudged over to where Ivan was standing while smiling to himself.

After a series of course corrections it was time for dinner and Issac and Ivan made their way into the cabins to see what Mia had made for the night. As they stepped along, Issac couldn't help but to let his mind wander to his earlier conversation with Mia and how Garet would react at dinner that night.

Issac was smiling as he sat down at the table to eat with his friends and caught Mia's eye as they both turned to watch Garet who was picking at his food inquisitively. Fighting off a laugh, he turned and addressed the younger boy sitting next to him. "Ivan, why don't you update everyone on our location?"

"Sure," came Ivan's reply. "As you all know, we've been searching for Lemuria for weeks now and haven't even found the slightest trace of it."

"Time that could be better spent searching for Jenna," Garet interjected, waving his spoon at the table in general.

Issac replied to his outburst with a comment of his own. "Garet, you know we have been searching for her at the same time. Eat your soup and let Ivan finish speaking." He cast a sideways glance at Mia who was trying to contain her laughter while watching Garet stare at his dinner again.

She ultimately failed to do so and let out a short giggle that didn't go unnoticed. "Do you have something to say Mia?" Ivan asked while turning to her.

Mia waved her hands in the air a bit while composing herself and said, "No..no. Please continue with what you were telling us Ivan."

Ivan shrugged it off and continued with his report. "Anyway, it seems that we finally have a lead on the location of Lemuria." This statement got a response from both Mia and Garet, the latter of which seemed to forget about his food entirely. "We're currently sailing towards a mass of thick fog in the center of the ocean," Ivan continued. "Babi said that Lemuria was often rumored to have been shrouded behind mist, and I believe this could be the location. We should be able to enter the mist by tomorrow, but I have no idea what to expect inside the mist, so we should proceed with caution."

Mia adopted a serious tone and indicated her agreement with a plan of caution before being interrupted by Garet, who had finally sampled some of his soup.

"Hey this is actually quite good. It doesn't have jellyfish monsters in it!" Garet exclaimed, prompting Issac and Mia to burst into laughter. A confused Ivan was looking at the three of them before he realized what was happening and plastered a wide grin on his face.

"You two pulled a prank on Garet and you didn't even let me in on the fun?" He asked Issac and Mia with a smile of satisfaction.

"Sorry Ivan…" Issac began to say.

"It wasn't exactly on purpose anyway," Mia added, laughing once again at Garet who had started to eat his soup at a rapid pace.

"I suppose I can forgive you then," Ivan said. "I have to admit though…You did a great job of it. I knew there was something wrong for Garet not to be shoveling his food down as he is now."

Garet looked up from his food to give the rest of the group a frown before finishing up the soup and declaring that he was going to get some early sleep since it was his night off from watch duty. After confirming the watch schedule for the night, the other three members of the group rose and cleaned up the table before heading off to take care of a few more chores before bed.

Issac walked back to his room from the deck with his sword in hand. It was almost time for watch, but he needed to grab a few things quickly before heading back out to the misty deck to perform the first watch. As he walked through the door to the room he shared with Mia, she greeted him while organizing her things before bed.

Setting his sword against the wall near the door, Issac glanced around the room to find what he was looking for as he spoke to Mia. "Make sure you get some rest tonight Mia. I'll wake you when it's your turn for watch."

She smiled as she walked over to where he was standing, "It's cold out there Issac. Take a jacket with you to stay warm so you don't catch a cold or something." She put her heavy fleece jacket over his shoulders as if to emphasize the point. Stepping back to admire his new look, she giggled and her face flushed a slight pink.

"Thanks Mia…" Issac managed to say, watching her reaction to his new outfit. _If either of the guys see me like this I'll probably have to kill myself to avoid the embarrassment_ Issac sighed. He took a look at Mia standing there in her pretty sea blue nightgown before turning away and heading over to the pack by his bed. _I guess if it makes her happy for me to wear a jacket tonight, I might as well_ _humor her_, Issac mused. Picking out a small package from his pack, Issac crossed to the door and grabbed his sword from the wall before turning to face Mia one more time. "I'm heading out to watch. Let me know if you need anything Mia."

She smiled at him and said, "I'll be fine. You just be safe out there okay?"

Issac returned her smile and said simply, "I will."

With that, Issac left the room and walk to the decks. _It sure is foggy out here,_ Issac thought as he stepped out on deck. Crossing over to the mast of the ship, Issac laid his sword gently on the ground beside him and leaned up against the mast. Taking a moment to glance around at the waves rippling in the darkness, he pulled the package from earlier out of his pocket and opened it up to reveal a beautiful silver chain necklace with a softly glowing ruby stone in the center.

He stared at it for a moment before sighing and losing himself in his thoughts. _This necklace is still one of my favorite possessions. I still remember the day she gave it to me. If there is one thing I'll remember about that day it's the time we spent together next to the fireplace telling stories to each other and laughing about silly things._

_I miss those days. _ Issac sighed. _Hopefully we'll finish with this Lemuria business soon so we can start searching again._

_We will find you eventually. I know you're still out there somewhere Jenna._

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Author's Notes:

All right, so I ended this chapter by being a bit evil and I might owe devoted mudshippers a small apology, but I promise you this is a mudshipping fanfic and I am a true mudshipper at heart. I guess you'll just have to keep reading to see how things turn out =)


	2. Chapter 2

I decided to put up the second chapter early as an apology for scaring the diehard mudshippers. I hope you enjoy!

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CHAPTER 2

Mia tossed and turned in bed making a futile effort to fall asleep. For some reason she just didn't feel tired tonight and couldn't keep her eyes closed. She sighed. _Why am I unable to sleep tonight? Nothing's bothering me and I don't have any other idea of what could cause this insomnia…_

Rolling onto her back, Mia stared at the ceiling for a few moments trying to lull herself to sleep by looking at patterns in the wood that was being softly illuminated by the moonlight. When that failed, she gave up entirely. _It seems I'm just not destined to get a good night's rest tonight_ she thought with another small sigh. Sitting up in bed, she smoothed out her nightgown and checked the time. _Another hour until my watch huh?_ Looking around the room, Mia's mace caught her eye and she stepped out of bed with renewed purpose. _Poor Issac's probably freezing out there and bored to tears. It wouldn't hurt if I went out there a little early to keep him company._

Walking over to the small closet in the room, Mia pulled her normal robes on and grabbed her mace that was resting near the dresser. She opened the door and stepped outside softly so as not to wake Ivan or Garet in the adjoining room. _As if was even possible to wake Garet anyway_ she smiled. Moving past the common area, Mia opened the door leading to the deck and was stopped by a breathtaking sight.

The fog cover was thick around the ship but the full moon shone brightly down from above causing a surreal effect that made it look like her surroundings were softly glowing a pure white color. The world was soundless and the sea was still as the fog rolled across its surface in silent waves.

Mia also spotted Issac sitting with his back to the mast staring up at the moon, his scarf lying still across his neck on the windless night. Not wanting to disturb this moment, she waited in the doorway and watched Issac stare into the night sky for a bit. He still hadn't noticed her and she was content to leave it that way.

Issac clenched his right hand and closed his eyes for a moment before averting his attention to the ocean. _I wonder what that was about…_ Mia wondered. _Now he looks so melancholy and lonely._ Issac's expression was starting to make Mia feel depressed too, but before she could make her presence known, Issac turned and noticed she was there.

Immediately his expression changed to that of surprise as he got to his feet and called out to her. "Mia, what are you doing out here? Your shift isn't for another hour."

Mia quickly motioned for him to sit back down while she walked over to sit next to him by the mast. "I just couldn't sleep tonight I guess," Mia told him. When she sat down, Issac draped the fleece jacket she had given him earlier around her shoulders.

"Gosh, you must be freezing out here in just your normal clothes Mia," Issac exclaimed after looking her over.

Mia shrugged at his comment. "I lived in Imil you know. A little cold won't kill me…but thanks," she added with a smile. "You still looked cold out here when I came out on deck though. This jacket is big enough to share," she said, scooting closer and offering half of it to Issac.

He smiled at her and accepted it. "Thanks Mia." Issac went back to his previous subject and asked her, "Why weren't you able to sleep and why are you out here so early?"

Mia shrugged in response and said, "I really don't know why I couldn't sleep, but I figured that since I wasn't going to be sleeping anyway I might as well come out here and keep you company on your shift."

Issac smiled at her and replied, "Well in that case let's both just keep watch together tonight."

Mia shook her head. "No, no. You need to get your sleep tonight too. You might need it for tomorrow."

Issac let out a short chuckle at her reply and said, "Mia. You're out here keeping me company on my watch. The least I can do is return the favor. Plus, I'd rather spend my time with you than sleeping."

Mia didn't have a response for that and let the point go as silence descended between them. Not wanting it to go on too long, she turned to look at him and asked, "So what was that in your hand a minute ago when I walked out here?"

"Oh you saw that?" Issac asked, turning to look at her. When Mia nodded in the affirmative, Issac brought his hand up and opened it to reveal a pretty necklace Mia had never seen before and explained, "I guess you could say it holds many memories for me."

_It's absolutely beautiful _Mia thought to herself while looking at the flowing, silver chain and the ruby stone glowing like a miniature ember in the center. "It's amazing. Do you mind if I took a look at it?" she asked him. Issac motioned that it was all right with him and held it out for her to take.

After looking at it carefully, Mia held it out and set it gently back in Issac's hands saying, "It's gorgeous, but I couldn't imagine you ever wearing it."

"That's probably because I've never worn it," he told her.

"Then where did you get it?" Mia asked in response.

Issac gave her a sad smile before saying, "Jenna gave it to me a few years ago."

"She has good taste then," Mia mentioned. "It sounds like there's a story behind it. I'd love to hear it if it's not too personal." She smiled at him from under the jacket they were sharing.

"It is a personal story, but I don't mind sharing it with you. Just don't talk about it with the others around. Garet doesn't even know about this," Issac added.

Mia's mind raced and new thoughts entered her head. _Garet is one of Issac's best friends and even he doesn't know about this necklace? I'm honored that Issac trusts me with his secret, but is it really all right for him to tell me about it then?_ She decided to give voice to her concerns: "Are you sure you want to tell me this story Issac? You don't have to. I would understand."

"It's all right Mia. I feel like you can understand this story and that's why I want to tell it to you," Issac explained. He paused to collect his thoughts. "It was probably the most thoughtful thing she's ever given me," he continued as Mia listened attentively. "I remember what she said when she gave it to me. '_This is one of my favorite necklaces Issac. I want you to have it so that even if I'm not around, you still have a small piece of me with you…'" _

Issac paused for a moment. "She was right you know. It does remind me of her even though I have no idea where she is right now." He stared out at the ocean and watched the fog silently moving across the water as if he might be able to discern the direction Jenna was in.

_No wonder he treasures it and has kept it to himself all this time... It sounds like just having that necklace with him allows him to remember her, almost as if he can feel her presence,_ Mia thought as she listened to Issac's story. _I can tell he really loves her._ She smiled and watched Issac stare out to sea for a moment before he turned back to face her.

It ended up being Mia who broke the silence however. "You really miss her don't you? You miss her a lot more than you let on."

Issac adopted a glum expression before replying. "Yeah. I do."

Mia wrapped her arms around him in a gesture of comfort before telling him, "Issac. I can tell how much you care for her and I promise that we will find her. All of us. Together."

Accepting her hug, Issac stayed silent for a moment. "I was always close with her Mia. She was my best friend, even before I met Garet. We understand each other like nobody else in town ever could. And that's why it hurt so much to have her ripped from me in Sol Sanctum; just as my father was ripped from me and her entire family was ripped from her 3 years before. We fought through the pain together for those3 years. I've always felt the need to protect her. She was like the little sister I never had. That's why I have to find her at any cost."

Mia gave him a squeeze. "We will find her Issac. I'll be there to help you every step of the way. Promise me you won't give up on her."

Issac smiled and put an arm around Mia's shoulder, returning her hug. "I promise," he told her.

_I'm glad I was able to cheer Issac up somewhat _Mia thought as Issac's mood visibly improved. The two adapts smiled and started chatting about smaller things from their travels, laughing occasionally at a particularly happy memory. They passed the time reminiscing about the things that made the journey fun, such as when Garet used the 'Force' Psynergy for the first time and knocked a tree into the wall of the Fuchin Temple or when Ivan accidentally blew over one of their tents with a whirlwind. Before either of them noticed, hours had passed.

_We're already halfway through my shift! _Mia realized suddenly. She stifled a yawn as she turned to tell Issac the news, but it didn't go unnoticed.

"Are you finally feeling sleepy now Mia?" Issac asked her with happy expression on his face.

"No, I'm all right," Mia managed to reply, even though it was obvious enough she was exhausted.

"You should really head to bed Mia. You look really tired and you want to be well rested for tomorrow. Don't worry about the rest of your shift; I can cover it," Issac said.

Mia declined the offer with a wave of her hand and laid her head on Issac's chest. "To be perfectly honest, I'd rather stay right here with you than head to bed now," she told him as her eyes slowly closed.

Issac, amused by her response, reached up and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face before saying, "As you wish. You're perfectly welcome to stay here if you want."

"Thanks…" Mia murmured back to him while stifling another yawn.

Issac watched her sleeping form for a few minutes before realizing he was also extremely tired and felt the urge to rest. Almost without noticing it, his eyelids started to droop and his awareness shrank as he fell asleep.

It was a picture perfect night. The two adapts lay asleep in each other's arms under the moonlight, wrapped in Mia's heavy jacket for warmth as the fog swayed and flowed past and around them.

This was how Ivan found them a few hours later when he came to take his shift.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Issac awoke to the rays of the morning sun cutting through the thick fog and lighting up the water droplets in the air. Blinking to clear his vision, he looked around at the deck of the ship. _What am I doing out here?_ He wondered to himself. Feeling a slight weight on his chest, he looked down to see the still sleeping form of Mia curled up next to him and memories from the night before came back to him, bringing a smile to his face. _How did we both fall asleep on watch…_Issac wondered, shifting Mia's jacket off of himself and onto her shoulders. _I don't want to wake her up, but should I leave her here and let her sleep or carry her back to our room?_

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted when a smug voice called out to him, "Morning sleepyhead." Issac turned to the owner of the voice and saw Ivan sitting on a barrel to his left with a light sword across his lap. "Have a nice nap last night?" Ivan continued with a grin and a nod in Issac's direction.

Issac stood up slowly, making sure Mia was laying against the ship's mast before responding to the younger boy. "I must have fallen asleep on watch…" he muttered in a low voice as he walked over to where Ivan was sitting.

"You must understand my surprise when I came out for my shift and saw two people who were supposed to be guarding the ship asleep in each other's arms, sharing Mia's jacket. So what exactly happened with you two?" Ivan asked, causing Issac to blush slightly as he understood Ivan's meaning.

"It wasn't anything like that Ivan," He said in a calm voice.

Ivan looked at him for a second before replying, "I believe you. I didn't think it was, but I had to ask anyway. My question as to how this happened still stands though," he reminded Issac while gesturing over to where Mia lay still asleep.

Issac shortly summarized events about how Mia was having trouble sleeping so they sat and talked during watch. He told Ivan about how Mia finally fell asleep partway through her watch and how he was going to take the rest of it for her. "I guess I must have just dozed off at some point…" he finished.

Ivan was lost in thought for a moment, then turned back to Issac. "You know, you're lucky I was the one who found you two and not Garet. He surely would have come up with some way to get back at both of you for that jellyfish joke you played on him the other day."

Issac visibly paled. "Thank sol," he muttered softly, causing Ivan to laugh at his reaction.

Ivan directed his attention back to Mia. "I have to say it was amusing to see you both just lying there during my whole shift. I considered trying to wake you both or move you, but I had to let you sit there after I saw just how…peaceful…you both looked."

Silence descended between the two of them as Issac watched Mia sleep and Ivan cast his vision out across the waves. _I can't I let myself fall asleep during watch like that. I'm glad I managed to wake up this early though; I'd never hear the end of it if Garet has seen us like that._

His thoughts were interrupted when a yawn was heard across the deck. Mia had finally opened her eyes and stretched out before looking around at the deck of the ship and seeing Issac and Ivan. "Good morning!" Ivan said her with a cheerful wave.

"Good morning," she called back to the pair with a slightly confused look.

"It seems you and Issac both decided to take a nap on the job last night," Ivan informed her.

"Oh no! We both fell asleep on watch?" she realized, moving her eyes between the pair as she recalled the events of the previous night. Issac nodded in confirmation.

"So it would seem," Ivan replied.

"I'm so sorry!" Mia told them. "I should have been able to stay awake for my watch. It's my fault."

"It's all right Mia," Ivan told her. "I was amused to see you two sleeping there when I came out for my shift." Mia's face flushed pink and she refused to make eye contact with Issac for a few seconds.

Attempting to end the awkwardness, Issac addressed them both: "Well since we're all awake now we might as well get started for the day right?" Both Mia and Ivan nodded in agreement with his words and Mia stood up, glad to put the conversation behind her.

"I'll go make some breakfast for everyone," Mia offered as Ivan turned to get the navigational maps from the other end of the deck. Walking directly past Issac, she stopped and whispered to him, "Thank you."

"For what?" came Issac's quizzical response.

"For staying with me," she said with a smile. Turning her back on Issac she called out to both of them, "I'll you know when breakfast is done."

Issac watched her as she disappeared into the ship's interior with a smile on his face. _I wasn't going to just leave you Mia. I can still picture how adorable you looked while sleeping last night._ His face flushed again as he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Distracting himself with the maps Ivan procured, the two boys theorized about their location in the ocean until Mia came through the doorway again. "Breakfast is ready guys," Mia called out to them. "And can someone go force Garet to wake up?" she added with a huff before turning and disappearing back inside. Smiling to himself, Issac headed below decks to get Garet before joining Mia and Ivan at breakfast.

In the afternoon all four adapts were out on deck, the calm waves of the morning forgotten as the water eddied and swirled around their ship. The fog was lighter here, but Issac and Ivan were at the helm of the ship trying frantically to retain control by fighting the strong water currents.

Mia and Garet served as lookouts, attempting to steer the boys past jagged, rocky outcroppings without getting caught in the various channels of water flowing in every which way. "Large one on the left!" Mia yelled out to alert Issac and Ivan to change course.

As the boys made the necessary course corrections while fighting a particularly strong current, Garet also yelled out. "Large wave from the right side; Hold on!"

Everyone grabbed a railing as the wave hit the ship and pushed it back into a current Issac and Ivan had just left. The spray form the sea covered the adapts as the fought for control of the ship once again. "Everyone all right?" Issac called out, receiving an affirmative response from everyone else.

The ship narrowly missed a spike of rock as the currents pulled it off course and into one of the larger waterways it was impossible to escape from. The water pushed the Lumerian ship back into the ocean where the waves were once again calm and collected. Issac breathed a sigh of relief and exasperation as he realized they were all safe, but had once again failed to get through the currents.

"I give up!" came Garet's voice, booming loudly across the deck. "We've been at this all day. At this point it's more likely that we'll destroy the ship than get through all those currents."

Mia looked thoughtful, but it was Ivan who gave a response. "Garet is right. We don't have any way to successfully navigate these currents and our best efforts have just caused us to end up back here."

_But what if Lemuria is really right here beyond the current?_ Issac couldn't help wondering. _I don't want to fail after coming this close…I guess it can't really be helped though. We haven't made any headway in those currents and I'm not sure it's possible for us to navigate those water channels._

"What if we reported back to Babi that the most likely location for Lemuria is through those waterways that are impossible to navigate until the sea around it calms down?" Issac asked everyone.

Everyone agreed it would be foolhardy to continue trying to get past the currents and that they should report back to Babi before continuing the search for Jenna, Felix, and Sheba. After setting a course that would take them back to Lalivero, the exhausted adapts decided to call it a day early and get some extra rest.

On the way back to his room, Issac was thinking about the next step in their journey. _Some of the towns we've visited recently reported a group of travelers that matches the description of Felix, Jenna, Sheba, and Kraden. If Felix is with them that must mean they're still headed to the next lighthouse…_ He sighed as he opened the door to his room and set his things down against the wall near his bed.

Mia was sitting on her bed across from him and looked over as he entered. "Hey Issac," she said with a soft smile. For some reason Issac couldn't explain, those simple words caught his attention and he turned to look at her.

Mia was wearing her favorite sea green nightgown she got while in Xian and Issac had to admit that it looked quite beautiful on her. _I've seen her in it plenty of times before, but I never noticed just how much the dress brings out the color of her eyes. _

Mia shifted nervously and fidgeted with the hem of her dress. "Issac?" she asked.

Issac shifted out of his thoughts suddenly and sheepishly replied, "Oh! Sorry. Was I staring?" He blushed as Mia nodded in the affirmative. "Sorry Mia, I was just admiring how pretty your nightgown is. It looks good on you…" he added tentatively.

His words caused Mia's face to turn a distinct shade of pink as she managed to stammer out, "You really think so?"

_This is so embarrassing..._Issac thought as he managed to nod back to her.

"Thank you," Mia said, blushing deeper and holding her hands together in front of her. Feeling Issac's gaze still on her, she stood up and walked over to sit down next to him on his bed. Mia leaned forward and fidgeted with Issac's scarf a bit before leaning back and admiring her handiwork. Her cheeks were still noticeably pink but she said what she wanted to say. "You look pretty handsome in that scarf you know…"

She broke eye contact with him, but it wasn't enough for Issac to stop his complexion from darkening. "Thanks Mia," he told her.

Both adapts sat there next to each other in silence for a few moments, too embarrassed to say or do anything else. After about half a minute, Mia stood up and walked back over to her bed, obviously still embarrassed by what had just happened.

"Good night Issac," she said to him with a serene smile.

"Good night Mia," came his response.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Babi was dead.

Upon returning to Lalivero, Issac, Mia, Garet, and Ivan ran into Iodem who told them the news. Not long after the adapts left to find Lemuria, Babi finally ran out of his drought and passed away. Iodem became the new leader of Tolbi upon Babi's death and he thanked the adapts for their efforts in finding Lemuria even though they were unsuccessful. He also told the adapts to keep the ship because Babi had promised it to them for their quest and nobody else could control it anyway.

After meeting with Faran once again and promising to look for Sheba on their journey, the group of adapts decided to spend a day in town before making the trip to the Great Western Sea, and ultimately the Jupiter Lighthouse.

It was a hot day and the group of four walked along the roads of Lalivero, now free from Tolbi's control thanks to Iodem, and Mia was slightly uncomfortable in her heavy robes after being used to the ocean breeze while on the ship. _It's odd to walk past random people in town and have them recognize you_ Mia thought to herself as she followed the three boys through the town. _All the townspeople here are so grateful to us for defeating Saturos and Menardi even though we still couldn't save Sheba…._

Her thoughts were broken as Ivan muttered aloud, "I still can't believe he's gone…"

"Who? Babi?" came Issac's response.

"Yeah," Ivan replied softly. "He's been around forever and ever."

"I suppose you're the one who knew about him before this journey seeing as Kalay did business with Tolbi right Ivan?" Mia asked him.

"I did," Ivan said. "He was around long before Master Hammet's time as well. Nobody knew how he was living for so long. I guess it's ironic that we finally discovered his secret right before he died…"

"Well I never really liked the guy anyway," Garet said nonchalantly as Mia scowled at him slightly.

"Garet!" she admonished. "It's not polite to talk about someone who died like that, regardless of who they were or what they did in life."

"Sorry," Garet murmured in response. "He just didn't feel like an honorable guy to me I guess…"

He received a nod from his companions and Issac addressed his point: "I think we all felt that way to varying degrees. Still…Mia's right; We should show some respect for the dead."

The adapts fell into silence as they turned another street corner and ended up at the entrance to a faire. The people of Lalivero had set up stalls and tents along the main street of the city and had all sorts of things for sale.

"Hey, this could be a good place to spend some time," Ivan told the group, indicating the various stalls around them and the rest of the group agreed that it would be nice to explore the faire for the afternoon.

Garet immediately moved in the direction of the food stalls, following his nose through the maze of shops to find his way. Issac, Mia, and Ivan continued along together, stopping at various stalls to admire the merchandise. Eventually a sign caught Ivan's eye and he peeled away from Issac and Mia saying, "I'm going to check out this shop. I'll catch up later."

Both Issac and Mia turned their heads to see where the wind adapt had run off to and saw him dart into a purple tent on the side of the street. "This won't end well…" Issac muttered as he watched the blonde boy disappear.

"Hmm?" Mia inquired. Issac pointed to a sign above the tent in response. _Lalivero Psychic – Come get your fortune told _Mia read. "Oh dear…" she said, sharing a worried look with Issac. "Who knows what kind of trouble he's getting into…"

After walking a little further down the main street, Mia noticed a shop that caught her interest and she pointed it out to Issac. "I'm going to check out the apothecary's stall really quickly," she told him. Issac nodded to her and as they both walked up, Mia saw piles of various herbs and potions as well as an older lady behind the counter organizing her wares.

Issac said to Mia, "I saw a shop across the way that looked interesting and I'm going to go check it out while you're looking at all these herbs." Mia nodded as he walked away and turned her attention to the lady behind the counter who spoke up after Issac took off.

"What can I help you with today dear?" the lady asked Mia in a kind voice.

"Oh I'm just interested in looking at some of the herbs you have here," Mia told her.

Lowering her voice and indicating Issac's retreating form, the old lady smiled and said, "Are you sure you wouldn't be interested in a love potion?"

Mia's face immediately flushed red as she replied, "Just herbs today mam."

The woman laughed at Mia's embarrassment, but let the subject go. "Just herbs it is," she said in her normal voice again. She began showing Mia various herbs, some that were familiar and some she had never heard of, explaining their various uses as she went. Mia had selected a stack of herbs to buy when Issac came back over from the other stalls and the old lady smiled at Mia, causing her to blush again slightly.

"Thanks for the herbs," Mia told the lady as she paid for them.

The old lady smiled and "No problem dear. You two have a nice day now." She waved as they walked away.

"She seemed pretty friendly," Issac commented.

"She was very helpful," Mia told him, avoiding any specifics. "We should probably try to find Garet and Ivan soon. The sun's about to set." Issac looked across the horizon and agreed.

After rounding up the party and eating dinner together, they went to the local inn to rent some rooms. To everyone's surprise, Garet complained about not feeling well because he had **too much** food and went to sleep it off. Issac, Mia, and Ivan talked for a little while longer before deciding that they too should get some sleep so they could get an early start in the morning and head for the Great Western Sea. Issac and Mia went up to their room, while Ivan went to his and Garet's.

Entering their room, Mia placed her pack near her bed and began to change into her nightgown while Issac waited outside. As she changed, her mind wandered to what the old lady selling herbs had said at the faire. _A love potion huh? I wonder why she thought I would need that…Plus, that was a totally embarrassing thing for her to do to me…_ She pulled the nightgown over her head and began folding her clothes while lost in thought. _I mean sure Issac is handsome, and of course I feel something for him…We are good friends after all….But love? I don't know if that's what this is…._Mia sighed softly before opening the door to let Issac back in the room.

"Thanks," Issac said as he crossed over to his bed and removed his trademark yellow scarf. He looked like he was deep in thought for a moment before turning to Mia and asking her a question out of the blue: "Mia, do you think you could tell me about the legends your people have surrounding the Mercury Lighthouse?"

Mia was taken aback by the sudden request from Issac, but she quickly overcame it. "Sure. But why?" she asked.

"I don't know…" came Issac's response. "Something is just bugging me about the whole thing. I don't feel like I'm sure of anything anymore."

Mia thought about his answer for a moment, but dismissed it and started talking about the lighthouse and Mercury Clan legends. She told him about how the Mercury Clan had always been the guardians and protectors of the lighthouse as well as anything she remembered learning about it in general. Issac sat there carefully thinking over what she was telling him, while Mia recounted everything she could remember.

Eventually Issac stopped her. "Mia, what do your legends say happens if the beacon is lit?"

"The world will end," she replied without hesitation.

"I'm looking for something more specific…Anything specific actually."

Mia thought about it for a moment before frowning. _The legends never did mention anything about how the world would end…just that it would. I wonder why that is… _"I can't think of anything Issac. Now that you mention it, I'm not sure they ever said what would actually happen..," she said tentatively.

Issac nodded. "The legends my people told about the lighthouses are the same. 'The world will end' if we light them, but they don't say anything specific either. I guess the thing is…it was easy for me to accept that Saturos and Menardi were just trying to destroy the world, but now that they're dead…Why does Felix still want to light the lighthouses and why would Jenna travel with him…?"

Mia shook her head with a bewildered look on her face. "I wouldn't know…but with everything you told me about Jenna…" she said.

"Exactly," Issac responded. "I know Jenna wouldn't willingly try to destroy the world and I honestly don't think Felix would either…I just assumed that they were forced to help Saturos and Menardi. So what is it that will actually happen if alchemy is released?"

"I wouldn't have a clue…" Mia muttered looking conflicted.

"What if…What if we're wrong Mia?" Issac asked in a voice that almost sounded scared. "What if the legends were wrong? They don't explain anything other than that lighting the lighthouses is bad. I know this flies in the face of everything we've done so far…but I can't help but to wonder…"

Mia didn't immediately respond or reject his statement so Issac chose to take it as a good sign. _What if we ARE wrong? _Mia thought as she pondered Issac's words. _The whole idea is so foreign…so wrong….But how do we know we're right? The legends say the world will end if the lighthouses are lit…but they provide precious few details on what will actually happen. _Mia frowned. _I shouldn't even be having the thoughts. I shouldn't be doubting the ancient texts…but yet there are too many things that don't add up for me not to._

She finally spoke. "This is a complicated subject matter Issac. You make some points that make sense…yet I still find it hard to doubt the wisdom of our ancestors."

Issac chuckled despite the serious topic of conversation. "At least you aren't saying immediately that I'm wrong."

"There are some things that don't add up," Mia pointed out. "I don't think I can deny the possibility of us being wrong when there are gaps in the legends we were told. The real question is not 'what if we are wrong?' but rather 'What are we going to do if it turns out we were wrong?'"

"That's another question with no easy answer," Issac said. The two adapts sat in silence for a moment, lost in their thoughts. It was Issac who eventually spoke up. "I guess we'll figure it out if and when the time comes…" He watched as Mia looked over at him with a sad smile on her face.

Issac sat there in silence with her for a few minutes, pouring over their conversation before speaking to Mia again. "Hey Mia, I almost forgot..."

"Hmm?" she said, looking at him with curiosity.

"I got you something today," Issac smiled, walking over to Mia's bed blushing ever so slightly as he did so.

Mia tilted her head slightly to one side and looked at him questioningly. "Issac?" she asked.

Issac pulled a small bag out of his pack and handed it to Mia, who took it inquisitively. She tentatively unwrapped the packaging to reveal a small box. He slowly opened the box to reveal a beautiful bronze ring with a brilliant aquamarine in the center. Mia's breath was taken away. "It's beautiful…" she said, blushing and smiling before looking up to an embarrassed Issac.

"I hoped you'd like it…" he stammered.

Mia smiled at him. "I love it! Thank you so much Issac. I can't believe you went to all of that trouble…"

"It was no trouble at all," Issac said sheepishly. "I saw it and it just reminded me of you for some reason…I'm glad you like it," he finished with a smile.

Mia slipped it gently onto her finger and admired how the gemstone shines in the light. "Thanks Issac," she repeated as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "I'll treasure it forever," she whispered in his ear before letting go of the hug and lying down on her bed, holding her hand in the air to admire the ring some more.

Issac smiled as he watched her lie there with a carefree attitude and happy smile on her face. Eventually the scene had to end and Issac knew it. "It's getting late Mia, we should get some rest before tomorrow," he finally said. Mia indicated her agreement with a nod and the two adapts got ready for bed.

As Mia drifted off to sleep her thoughts jumped from topic to topic from the day before finally landing on Issac . _He's the nicest person I've ever met…even if he is never concerned enough about his own needs or wellbeing. But that's okay…I still love him…._


	5. Chapter 5

Ah! It's been too long. I'm very sorry this chapter came out late, but a ton of stuff came up for me in real life that just didn't leave me time to work on this story. I felt I owed it to everyone reading to get another chapter out quickly so here it is. This chapter is short but sweet and I'm happy with it. Enjoy!

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CHAPTER 5

It is a starry night on the Great Western Sea and Issac is on watch duty for the first shift again. The group is headed to a town called Contigo that is right before the path to the Jupiter Lighthouse where they expect to catch up to Felix. While the group of adapts is ready for the trials ahead, on this particular night Issac has nothing to do but organize his thoughts.

_We'll be in Contigo tomorrow and from there it's just a short trek to the Jupiter Lighthouse. I can't wait for this to be over so we can all go home together…_

Issac stood up and picked up his Gaia Blade from where it lay next to him. Grasping the handle, he shifted into a battle position and readied himself for a foe that did not exist. _It wouldn't do to get rusty on my swordsmanship, _Issac smiled as he swung the blade through the air and began to fall into the flow of battle, as if he was part of some strange dance. _It's been a long time since we've been in a real fight. I hope everyone else is also ready for what's ahead. _

Issac shifted direction and brought his sword around behind him to hit an invisible foe before twisting left and slashing the air to his side. _I really hope it doesn't come down to a fight. If I had to I could probably fight against Felix, but I'm not sure I could bring myself to attack Jenna. She's supposed to be my best friend…There must be a reason for everything that's happened. I am determined to at least hear her out so that I understand what their motivations are before we fight. _

Issac imbued his sword with a small amount of psynergy and thrust forward before sidestepping and making a sweeping slash backward. Issac lowered his blade and sighed as he looked up to the stars. _I wonder what will happen when this mad adventure finally ends. I've made such good friends with everyone but will we all just head our separate ways? I can't imagine what life would be like without Ivan's humor and mischief or Mia's smile and her calming presence. I almost wish we could keep going on this journey forever. It's odd, but even though the future of the world is at stake, I'm enjoying myself. I'm happy to be here with my friends._

Issac leaned against the railing of the ship, his yellow scarf billowing in the wind as he gazed out to sea. The sun would be up soon and then their goal would be in sight. Issac stood as still as a statue while the waves lapped silently against the side of the ship. Despite the turmoil ahead he really only had one thing on his mind.

_Ah…Why can't I stop thinking of her? _Issac sighed as his thoughts drifted once again back to Mia. _I can't explain how, but I feel like Mia knows me better than anyone… If feels like we've been together for a lifetime already even though it's only been a few months. I just don't know what to make of all this…_

As the first rays of sun appeared on the edge of the horizon, Issac felt a light hand on his shoulder. Spinning around to confront the intruder, he came face to face with Mia who was smiling at his confusion.

"Good morning Issac," Mia greeted him.

"Ah, you scared me there Mia," Issac said, turning back to the ocean and gesturing for her to join him by the railing. Mia stepped up to next to him and turned her head to look at him. "What are you doing out here so early anyway Mia?" Issac asked.

Mia smiled and cast her gaze across the water before answering. She gestured to the east and replied. "I enjoy watching the sunrise. The way the water absorbs the light is beautiful."

"It is, isn't it?" Issac responded. They stood in silence for a few minutes.

Mia gave him a warm smile in return. "You know you're not very good at keeping watch Issac," Mia told him playfully.

"Ouch, that stung," Issac shot back with mock indignation.

"This is the second time I managed to sneak up on you during your watch on this boat you know," Mia pointed out.

"Maybe it's better that way. You know, when you sneak up on me it's a pleasant surprise to see you," Issac said.

Mia's smile widened. After a short delay she told him: "You can be sweet sometimes you know."

Issac had no idea how to respond to that so he kept his silence and let the moment hang between them as the sun continued its slow accent into the heavens. "Hey Mia…" He finally said.

"Hmm?" she asked.

"Thanks." Issac said simply.

Mia turned to face him, an unasked question on her face.

"Thanks for always being there for me Mia," Was his response.

Mia blushed slightly at his words and tried to wave it off.

"I'm serious," he told her. "You're the only person I can talk to about some things. You always know what to say to cheer me up. Whenever I've felt uncertain or lost you're always there to guide me. I feel like I've burdened you with my problems and I'm sorry."

Mia just smiled at him. "You have nothing to be sorry for Issac," she said. "It's not a burden at all. Plus you're always there for me too. I listen to your troubles because I care," she pointed out.

Issac finally snapped and did something very unlike him. He reached out to Mia and wrapped his arms around her body, drawing her into his embrace. "Thanks…" he whispered into her ear.

Shocked wouldn't even begin to describe how Mia was feeling at the moment. If she was blushing before, she was now bright red.

_Thank the heavens Issac can't see my face right now, _Mia thought. Too embarrassed to move, Mia let Issac hold her as she kept her eyes fixed on the sunrise.

Feeling that it had gone on long enough, Issac released Mia and followed her gaze across water again. "It really is beautiful isn't it Mia?" he asked her.

_I can't look at him or I'll die from the embarrassment…_Mia thought to herself. She nodded in response to Issac, refusing to meet his gaze. "Yes, it is…"

_Why did I do that_…Issac wondered, looking down at his hand as if it held the answer. _I shouldn't have been so stupid! It was obvious that made her uncomfortable._ "Ah….I'm sorry Mia. I…really shouldn't have done that. It was stupid."

Mia turned to face Issac for the first time and her face still had a touch of pink visible. "That's…That's all right Issac," she started, smiling weakly. "I just wasn't expecting it…it's not that…I umm… I didn't really mind…" Mia finished meekly as she dropped her gaze and fidgeted with her dress. _I kind of liked it when he held me like that actually…_

It was Issac's turn to be surprised. "Ah…okay then…" he managed to choke out. _I thought for sure I had just made a serious mistake…What's happening…_

Mia addressed Issac again. "Ahh, Issac…? Could you maybe….hold me again?" Mia asked while blushing deeper. "Umm…if you wouldn't mind that is…." She added quickly, but managed to hold her gaze.

For a moment Issac just stood there dumbstruck but eventually came over it and slowly put his arms around her again. "Let's watch the sunrise together then Mia," he said with a smile.

Mia just smiled in response and turned back to the sunrise while in Issac's arms. Issac's took his eyes off the sun for a moment and glanced at the blue haired girl in his arms. _You're the most wonderful girl I know Mia…._

They stayed like that until the sun was completely above the water.


	6. Chapter 6

Here's an early release to make up for all the time you had to wait between chapters 4 and 5. Enjoy!

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CHAPTER 6

Contigo was a large town and it took the adapts half a day to obtain all the supplies they needed and gather information on Felix's Party. They were extremely close now. Tomorrow would be the day.

_One way or another this is going to end tomorrow, _Mia thought. Her delicate hands were busy separating the supplies they had just bought into piles for the three boys and herself. _Let's see…each of us could use a Psy Crystal and a potion just in case…_

Her thoughts were interrupted by Issac who spoke to her. "I'm stepping out for a minute Mia."

Mia turned to regard him and watched him move towards the door, picking up his Gaia Blade as he stepped outside. "Don't stay out there too long! You need your rest before tomorrow too," Mia reminded him.

Issac acknowledged her with a wave of his hand as he stepped outside their room in the inn. Mia stared at the doorway for a minute before turning back to her work. _Something's definitely bothering him. I'll have to bring it up when he comes back in._ She made a mental note to talk to Issac when he returned.

Issac walked down the hall of the inn and stepped outside into the cloudy night. A white speck landed on his hand as he gripped his sword. Issac looked up. _Snow? Is it…snowing?_ Sure enough, flecks of pure white snow were falling out of the sky and coating the ground in a fine powder. Issac shrugged and began to walk in the direction of the trees, his footfalls making crunching sounds in the fresh snow.

Upon reaching his destination, Issac finally allowed his emotions to surface. He dropped the Gaia Blade into the snow and lashed out at the nearest tree with his fist, drawing blood. "Why am I so weak!?" He yelled to the forest. Small drops of blood dripped from his clenched fist, staining the purity of the snow beneath him. Issac seemed not to care as he sank to his knees and stared at the ground. _Why does everything have to be so complicated? Why do I have to feel so torn? _Issac pressed his bleeding fist into the snow and stared as the white became red. _I'm not allowed to have this happen. I have to be a leader…I need to be stronger than this. I cannot allow these thoughts to distract me from what we have to do. But I know how I feel._

_I love Mia._

A single tear ran down his face and fell to the snow as his mind continued to whirl. _This is the most painful experience of my life. To know how I feel, but be unable to tell her…I can't stand it._

He brought his hand from the snow up to his eyes to see it still bleeding

_I can't tell her. As much as I want to, I have to sit by and watch silently for the sake of the group…for the sake of the quest…for the sake of the world. She cannot know. _

Issac lost his composure completely and let the tears run silently down his face as he agonized over his dilemma. _I can't risk telling her and possibly screw something up, _Issac thought, letting out a perverse laugh.

With his uninjured hand, Issac called upon his psynergy.

...

Back inside the inn Mia had finished organizing supplies for the next day and was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling. "What's bothering you Issac?" she asked the wood above her head. Mia sighed and rolled over to stare at the empty bed next to her. _Issac, you're such an enigma…I can never tell what you're thinking. It's been almost half an hour, what could you possibly still be doing outside?_ Mia wondered, standing up and walking to the window. She pulled open the shades to reveal a scene of brilliant white. _It's snowing? Has Issac been out there in the snow all this time…? This isn't right.. I'm going to find him._

Mia put on her heavy jacket and grabbed her mace before stepping into the hallway. She half paused outside the door of Garet and Ivan before coming to a decision. _It's nothing serious, I can handle it. No need to make them worry for nothing. _Stepping outside the inn, Mia took a moment to look around before spotting half covered footprints in the snow. _They must be Issac's tracks. Nobody else is even around here right now._ She began to follow the footprints as they led her away from town and towards the woods. _What could you possibly be doing out here?_ Mia wondered as her sense of unease about the situation grew.

Despite the snow coming down, Issac's footprints were easy to follow. Mia's anxiety increased with each step she took towards Issac's location. She finally came upon a clearing on the edge of the woods and saw a figure sitting in the snow with spots of red stained into the snow. Recognizing the yellow scarf and blonde hair of the boy she loved, she moved in his direction before stopping short as she recognized the color on the ground and dripping from one of his hands. _Is that….blood? Issac what-_

Her thoughts were cut short as Issac's hand let off a brilliant gold glow. Mia could feel the psynergy coming from Issac as he called it into his good hand, oblivious to her presence. The psynergy took form in his hand and as Mia watched it changed into a beautiful flower with light blue petals.

Both Issac and Mia stared at it for a moment before Issac picked it up in his bleeding hand and crushed it. Mia watched as the broken blue petals fell as if in slow motion from Issac's hand and dropped onto patch of red snow. She stared at the spot where the broken flower landed as a drop of blood fell onto it and merged with the snow below. She stood shocked, rooted to the spot because her legs seemingly forgot how to function, trying to comprehend what she had just seen.

An audible sob coming from Issac snapped her out of her trance as she dropped her mace and approached Issac slowly from behind. Issac finally heard her footfalls and called out, "How long have you been here Mia?"

Mia stopped a few steps from him. "How did you k-"

"I didn't," Issac interrupted. "I guessed."

Mia took the last few steps to his side and knelt in the snow next to him. She took his injured hand in her own and watched as the skin repaired itself under her psynergy. "Issac. How did this happen? What are you doing out here?" She asked him worriedly. Issac did not answer her questions. A drop of water landed on the back of Mia's hand and she looked at it for a moment before looking at Issac's face. "Issac…are you crying?"

Another droplet of water landed on her hand and Issac looked up slightly, revealing the tear tracks down his face. "It's nothing," he told her.

"Issac…" Mia began.

"Please don't make this harder than it has to be Mia," Issac said.

_What!?_ Mia thought, thoroughly confused. _Since when has Issac pushed me away like this?_ "Issac…I'm worried about you. You know you can tell me anything that's bothering you."

Issac smiled despite himself. _I can't tell you this…_ "I'm sorry Mia. Maybe someday…but not now."

Mia sat there for a moment and let her gaze fall back to the crushed flower petals resting in snow stained by Issac's blood. The sight brought a tear to her eye, but she wiped it away, determined not to cry. Mia stood up and offered a hand to Issac. "Come on Issac, you need to come back with me. You can't stay out here in the cold." Issac met her gaze as he gave her his hand and she helped him to his feet.

"I don't know what you were thinking coming out here all alone like this in this weather Issac," Mia said. "I was really worried about you…"

"Sorry Mia. I didn't mean to worry you," was Issac's automatic response.

Mia led him over to where his sword lay in the snow and picked it up for him, before grabbing her mace lying next to it. With her hand still firmly attached to Issac's she headed back to town and the inn. "You could have gotten sick you know," she told him as they walked.

"I know," Issac replied.

"You need your energy for tomorrow. I can't believe you'd go running off like that, not to mention what happened to your hand…" Mia said as they reached the door of the inn.

"I punched a tree," Issac said as Mia helped him inside the inn.

Mia just gave him an incredulous look and sighed. "Seriously?"

Issac nodded and Mia shook her head. "I was frustrated," he explained. Mia sighed.

They entered their room and Mia put their weapons against the wall before leading Issac over to his bed. As he lay down, Mia spoke again. "Frustrated or not, don't do anything stupid like punching trees again. All I saw when I arrived was your blood on the snow and it scared me…" Another tear escaped Mia's eye and started down her cheek.

Issac reached up and wiped it away. "Thanks for coming after me Mia," Issac said.

Mia allowed a sad smile to surface. "Just don't make me worry like that again…please."

"I won't," Issac told her.

"I know you said you weren't going to tell me what's wrong, but remember I'm here if you ever need to talk," Mia reminded him.

Issac returned her smile with one of his own and said, "I know. I promise I'll tell you one day Mia. I don't know when, but I promise I will."

Mia made her way over to her bed and lay down to go to sleep, replaying the scene and Issac's words in her mind. _'I promise I'll tell you one day…'_

_When will that day be Issac?_

* * *

Footnote: At the time of posting this chapter, I still have no idea how I'm going to end this fanfic. I never plan out my writing, preferring it to instead come straight from my heart and emotions. With that said, I've been playing around with a few different ideas and I think I'm just going to have to let the story evolve as I write it and determine if it'll end in tragedy or happiness. Sorry to be so vague but I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out =)


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

Issac parried a blow with his sword and spun to fend off the next attacker as a pillar of flame incinerated the blue dragon that had just attacked him. _The monsters here are much stronger than any we've faced before_, Issac thought grimly as he continued his mad dance, dodging the attacks of their foes.

Ivan sent a bolt of lightning at a ghostly monster bent on taking his life, destroying it utterly. A wyvern caught Issac from behind with its claw and opened a small gash on his left arm. The wound didn't last long as Mia's healing powers closed it up in seconds. The distraction cost her and the wyvern shifted its focus to Mia. A quick slash from Issac brought the beast down, but another tried to take advantage of the situation and flew at Issac's exposed back. It never reached him though, as it crashed to the floor, encased in a block of ice courtesy of Mia. A swipe of Issac's sword shattered the beast into a million pieces even as he turned to assist Garet, who was busy holding off two more foes.

"Step back!" Ivan yelled as he gathered his psynergy. Purple bolts rained upon their foes as Garet disengaged from the fight and watched as the enemies fried to a crisp.

Stepping past the charred remains of the monsters, Issac lowered his blade and checked to ensure nobody had been injured in the latest skirmish. "We'll have to be careful for more ambushes like these," Issac reminded everyone.

"I miss the days where they fought you straight up instead of trying to sneak around and stab you in the back…" Garet complained.

Upon entering another room and seeing the puzzle already completed, Issac motioned the rest of the party forward. "We did not come this far to allow another lighthouse to be lit…" Issac muttered to nobody in particular.

"Well we sure won't catch up if you stand around brooding about it," Mia said with a smile, tapping him on the shoulder as she passed him and stepped outside onto a ledge. Garet followed her outside as Ivan and Issac brought up the rear.

"Ah!" Mia burst out as the floor beneath her gave way and she plummeted downwards. Garet reacted quickly and leapt after her, hitting the ledge she landed on and almost falling off. "Mia! Garet!" Issac and Ivan yelled out as they realized what had happened.

"Are you all right?" Issac called down to them from above as he peered over the side at the ledge they landed on.

"I'm fine," Mia called back. "I think Garet may have broken his arm and I can't pull him up!" she added.

"We'll find a way to get you back up," Issac called down as Ivan was busy looking through his pack for a rope or anything else useful.

"I'm afraid you won't be doing that," a new voice called out from behind them as Issac and Ivan spun to regard the two newcomers. One was a shorter woman with flaming red hair and the other a tall stocky man with hair of a pure white color.

"Who are you…?" Ivan asked cautiously.

"Me? Why I'm Karst," the red haired woman replied.

"And I'm Agatio," the taller man replied. Agatio turned to Issac and regarded him coolly, "You have a debt to repay to Karst here you know."

Issac looked at him in confusion as Ivan replied, "Debt? But we've never seen you before…"

Karst eyed Ivan sadistically. "You may have met my sister Menardi."

Comprehension dawned in the eyes of the two blonde boys and they reached for their weapons, remembering events on the Venus Lighthouse aerie and the death of Saturos and Menardi after two grueling battles.

There was no way of avoiding the fight and the boys knew it.

Down below on the ledge, Mia's attention was torn between what was happening above and Garet dangling below. "Garet, what could possible make you jump down here like that," Mia scolded him as she tried to pull him back up once again.

"Sorry Mia," Garet said back. "I wasn't about to let you die now was I? Poor Issac would never have forgiven me if I let that happen," he said with a wink.

Mia looked at him with exasperation. "You're still going to go on about that while we're stuck in this predicament?" She asked him.

"Nice ring," he shot back at her smiling as her face turned slightly pink. "I wonder where you got that from…" Garet added with a thoughtful grin, already knowing full well what the answer had to be. Mia ignored the comment as best she could and kept trying to pull him up.

The sounds of combat rang out above them and Mia looked up with worry, but was unable to see anything. She returned to trying to pull Garet up, and with his help they were finally making some progress. Using his one good arm, Garet managed to hoist the rest of his body up far enough for Mia to pull onto the ledge.

Looking up above, Mia tried to figure out how they were going to get up and help Issac and Ivan. Noticing her gaze, Garet decided to throw one last comment out there: "Don't worry Mia, Issac's a tough guy. He can handle himself."

Without averting her gaze Mia gave a response laced with frustration. "How can you be so carefree at a time like this?" she asked him.

"Mia, we're stuck here," Garet pointed out. "We have no way of getting up just yet. I'm trying not to worry about them too you know."

Mia sighed and looked away from the battle above as she healed Garet's arm as best she could. "You're right," she said, admitting defeat. "But you should be careful about what you say or you might just end up back on that ledge again," she said with a hint of a smile.

Garet paled slightly even though he knew she was joking before letting out a laugh. "So Mia has a scary side. Who would have guessed…" he said. Mia looked like she was about to reply when they head a scream from above.

"That sounded like Ivan!" Garet exclaimed as he shared a worried glance with Mia. There was no more room for jokes.

"Hold it together Ivan!" Issac called out, followed by a laugh form one of their foes.

"Never let your guard down in battle!" Agaito called out.

Issac cried out as Agaito struck, causing Mia's breath to catch in her throat.

Just then a new voice was heard from above, this one undoubtedly feminine: "Issac!"

Garet's worried look faded as he recognized the voice and placed a hand on Mia's shoulder to reassure her. "Hey Mia, Jenna's here. She won't let anything happen to him so don't worry."

"Hey Jenna! A little help here would be great!" Garet called up to her.

"Garet? Is that you?" she called back.

Moments later, Jenna's head peaked over the edge of the ledge and a rope was tossed down to help Garet and Mia back up. Upon reaching the top, Mia rushed to where Issac and Ivan lay, casting the most powerful healing psynergies she knew on them. Their wounds disappeared at a rapid rate, a testament to her skill as a healer.

Jenna stood there astonished as wounds melted away from the bodies of Issac and Ivan while Garet watched her with an amused smile. "She's pretty good huh?" he said, nodding toward Mia.

"I don't think I've seen healing that impressive before," Jenna said with stark honesty as she continued to watch the healer at work.

"I'm pretty sure she's the only reason we're all still standing," Garet said with a laugh.

"Remind me to thank her later then," Jenna told him.

"Must be great to have a healer like that," Sheba said standing next to Jenna. "I doubt she accidentally burns people sometimes…" she added, laughing while dodging a swipe from Jenna's staff.

Issac and Ivan finally sat up, their energy partially restored as a relieved Mia stayed at their sides. Felix chose this moment to approach Issac and ask for the Mars Star. Ivan and Mia stared incredulously as Issac looked Felix in the eye then pulled out the star and handed it over.

It was Jenna that spoke up to ease the tension. "Thanks Issac. We'll explain everything, I promise, but for now...just trust us."

"You know I still do," Issac told her.

Mia continued to heal the two boys to the point of exhaustion, draining nearly all of her psynergy as Garet, Jenna, Sheba, and Kraden watched.

Jenna frowned. "Something's wrong. I'm going to help Felix and Piers. Take your time and get better. We aren't going anywhere."

Sheba followed Jenna shortly after and Mia helped Issac up while Garet helped Ivan to his feet.

Issac stood for a moment, his hand on Mia's shoulder for balance. "Thanks Mia," he said to her.

Mia smiled as she responded, "Just take it easy now. No need to try and move about too fast after that battle."

Just then a powerful wave of Jupiter energy passed over the group and a bright light indicated that the lighthouse had just been lit. Issac staggered and Mia put an arm around him to steady him and keep him on his feet as the Jupiter energy reached the already injured Venus adapt. Fortunately the opposite was happening with Ivan and he looked refreshed and rejuvenated by the beacon's power.

The Jupiter adapt took a look at the party and spoke with a somber expression: "I think it's about time we found out what's going on."

"They will explain everything," Kraden said from the side as the group slowly made their way towards the aerie of the lighthouse.

As they reached the aerie, they came upon Felix's party looking as if they had just fought a fight they barely won. Agaito, Karst, and Alex were on the left elevator and descended just as Issac's group stepped onto their aerie. Issac turned his attention to Felix and Jenna. "All right Felix. We want to know what's going on," he said with a nod from Garet.

Kraden spoke up. "There are...a number of extenuating circumstances," he told them.

Garet shook his head and was about to respond when Ivan stepped between the two parties. "Look, I don't think any of us are in the condition to have this conversation here," Ivan said. "Let's head back to Contigo and sort out our issues there."

Kraden nodded. "That's a wise idea Ivan. I agree," Kraden stated.

"Very well," Issac said. "We will meet you back in Contigo and then you owe us the truth. Don't think you can sneak off again."

As they turned to leave, Jenna called out: "We'll be there! I promise. We'll explain everything."

Issac raised a hand in acknowledgement as he stepped onto the lighthouse elevator with Garet, Ivan, and Mia and made their decent.

There was no sense in brooding on the topic as the group walked back to Contigo and as a result, the adapts were unusually quiet. Upon reaching town, they entered an empty building and sat down to wait for the others to arrive.

Garet finally got fed up with the silence and decided to talk. "I can't fathom what their motivations could be, but I know they have a reason for it. I know Jenna hasn't changed and even Felix doesn't feel like a bad guy…"

He got a nod from Mia and Ivan while Issac continued to sit there in silence, composing his thoughts. Shortly thereafter Felix, Jenna, Sheba, Kraden, and the blue haired man Piers walked through the door.

Introductions were made between the parties and they sat down to talk. Issac, Garet, Ivan, and Mia listened as Kraden explained that Saturos and Menardi were trying to light all the elemental lighhouses.

"That still doesn't explain why you decided to help them…" Issac pointed out.

"Our parent's lives were at stake!" Jenna interjected loudly.

Issac stood there shocked while Garet shook his head with disbelief. "But your parents died 3 years ago…"

Kraden finally explained about Saturos and Menardi triggering the storm by failing the puzzles of Sol Sanctum and how they were the only survivors of their raiding party that day.

"They were the ones that saved Felix's life…" Jenna began.

"In fact nobody died by the boulder that day!" Kraden said.

Mia watched as Issac's body stiffened. _It can't be…_she thought.

Issac spoke. "So that means…"

"That's not the only reason to light the lighthouses either," Kraden said. He explained all about the balance of the elements and how the world is steadily eroding without the power of alchemy to keep it in place.

Mia was barely able to listen. _Our ancestors were wrong. We were wrong. How is this possible? How could we have fought all this time without knowing…_She let her gaze land on Issac who was standing there in stoic silence as Kraden explained the situation. _And Issac…your father…_She took a half step toward him before stopping as Issac finally spoke.

"Why didn't you say anything? We could have helped you…" he said

"Felix wanted to play the role of villain alone," Kraden Explained. "He never wanted to get any of you involved."

It was at that moment they were interrupted by a visitor. To everyone's surprise, Master Hamma walked through the door and addressed them all: "Now that we know this shouldn't you all be going?"

Hama introduced herself those who didn't know her. "I'm Hamma, descendant of the Anemos. I was born in Contigo and I inherited the power of the Anemos," she explained as everyone looked at her with shocked expressions.

"Hey…We just got into Contigo and we found out this is where Ivan was born!" Garet pointed out.

"Yeah…We also learned he's got a sister…" Mia added.

"Sister…you don't mean…" Sheba began to say.

"That would be me, yes" Hamma replied with a slight frown.

Ivan took a half step forward and opened his mouth, but Hamma silenced him with a gesture.

"Not now, Ivan. This isn't the time," she told him.

"Three lighthouses have been lit…The elements have been thrown out of balance," she continued. Hamma explained that without the heat of the Mars beacon, all of Weyard would freeze. Using her Jupiter powers she told the party that Agaito and Karst are doomed to failure and that they must sail to the northern reaches to light the last lighthouse together. Everyone in the room nodded at her words and she left them with a parting message.

"I must leave now, but I have prepared a gift to aid you on your way to the Mars Lighthouse. Meet me at the inlet tomorrow before you leave," Hamma told them, before walking out of the room.

Jenna apologized again for not explaining things earlier, but was met with understanding from Issac and Garet. With that settled and the two groups combined as one for the single purpose of lighting the last lighthouse, they decided to spend the night at the inn before sailing to the northern reaches the next day.

As they made their way into the inn the adapts got to know each other a little better as they talked, mostly about their travels and the places they had been. As the group talked into the night, one by one the exhausted adapts headed off to bed to get some sleep.

Mia excused herself and went to her room where she lay on the bed for hours, as events from the past day ran through her mind. Before she knew it, it was almost midnight. _It already seems like a lifetime ago that we were trying to stop the beacons from being lit…_she thought as she absentmindedly ran a hand through her azure hair. _Issac still hasn't come to bed yet_ she noticed as she turned to face where he should have been. _I know it's the first time he's talked to his friends in months but he still needs his rest…he's not fully healed from that battle earlier. _Mia turned over on her back again before coming to a decision. _I guess it can't hurt to take a peek outside and make sure he's all right…_Mia slipped out of the bed and silently headed for the door.

...

As the number of adapts in the inn dwindled down, Issac eventually found himself alone with Jenna. "I'm glad you're finally with us Issac," Jenna was saying.

"I'm glad I don't have to chase you anymore too," Issac smiled.

"I have so many things to tell you about," Jenna told him in an excited voice.

"I'd love to hear all about it Jenna. It's getting quite late though; maybe you should tell me later?" Issac suggested.

Jenna sighed and stood up. "You're right. We do need to get some sleep before tomorrow," she said with a smile. Issac stood up but Jenna stopped him before he could walk over to his room. "I missed you, you know," she whispered into his ear as she pulled him into a hug. Issac returned it and smiled, happy to finally be reunited with his longtime friend. "I love you Issac…you're the best friend I've ever had. I'm sorry we had to be apart for so long…"

"I love you too Jenna," he told her. Jenna pulled away suddenly and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before running off to her room giggling madly. Issac just stood there for a few moments wondering what the heck just happened before shaking his head and turning towards his room.

For a second he thought his eye caught a flash of blue at the end of the hallway, but he shook it off. "I must be really tired…" he muttered to himself. As Issac opened the door to his room he noted the sleeping form of Mia on the bed across from his and confirmed he had just been seeing things. Just to make sure, he crossed over to her and watched her slow and steady breathing for a moment before turning away.

_Good night Mia_, he thought to himself with a smile as he slipped into his bed and closed his eyes.

Unknown to Issac, Mia was anything but asleep. When she heard him get into bed, her eyes opened and stared at the wall away from him replaying the scene she had just seen.

_'I love you too Jenna.'_

A single tear ran silently down her cheek.

* * *

Finally some combat. That's one thing I find hard to fit in when I write about events during TLA. Combat against strong foes is scarce after the Jupiter Lighthouse and it limits the amount of fun interactions I can use that result from combat. Anyway, I hate writing about the reunion section of the game because it really leaves no room for deviation. I could just assume everyone reading this far knows what happens (and they probably do) but that just doesn't make for a very cohesive story. In the end, I went with a compromise and skipped as much of it as I possibly could while keeping the main points.

I've now decided how this fanfic is going to end and I'm writing a stand-alone oneshot that depicts the other possible ending. I'll probably release it before this story is over so you'll have a hint as to how this one will end up =)


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

It was morning the day after the events at the Jupiter Lighthouse and Issac had just woken up to see Mia sitting on her bed apparently deep in thought.

"What's wrong Mia?" A concerned Issac asked the azure haired girl.

"It's nothing," Mia replied with a smile to reassure him, however Issac could see right through it.

He sighed and sat down next to her on her bed. Mia was just looking at the floor with her hands folded in her lap. The sight depressed Issac who knew whatever was on her mind was clearly not "nothing." _What could have her so shaken up like this…_Issac wondered. _She looks like she's been beating herself up over something._

"Mia. I can tell something is really bugging you. Please let me help you," Issac said as he reached out and took her hands in his own.

At his action, Mia broke into tears and Issac could hear her quiet sobs as she pulled one hand out of his to wipe them away. _Please don't cry Mia. I hate to see you like this… _

"Mia…" was all Issac could say as he embraced her fully, holding her slender body to his own.

Mia cried into his shoulder as Issac did his best to comfort her. "I'm sorry…." Mia choked out as Issac's shirt became slightly damp from her tears. "I'm okay," she told him after a minute, composing herself slightly and looking up to meet his gaze with a sad smile. _I can't let him know what's really bothering me…_Mia thought as she returned to looking at the floor. _All I want is for him to be happy…I can't tell him. Not now…not ever. _The words poured out of her mouth before she could stop them. "I'm still in shock that we have to light the lighthouses," Mia lied.

Issac frowned at the response. That didn't seem to be what was truly bothering her, but he let it go with a nod. _She's still got that sad smile on her face. There's something else that's bothering her but she obviously doesn't want to talk about it right now…_

Mia felt guilty for trying to deceive Issac. _What am I doing? I'm lying to the boy I love…_She resisted the urge to begin crying again.

Issac held Mia at arm's length and waited for her eyes to meet his again before speaking. "I can't believe it either Mia. It'll take me time to get accustomed to the fact too," he played along while continuing to comfort her.

Mia gave him the most sincere smile she could muster. "I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels that way…" she said. "Thanks for making me feel better about it."

"Don't worry Mia. If you ever need to talk to me about anything, I'll always listen to you, okay?" Issac reminded her. He waited a few moments until he knew Mia was feeling better before speaking again. "Come and get some breakfast with me Mia," he said, trying to take her mind off of the subject.

"I will," she replied. "Go ahead of me and give me a few minutes to get changed," Mia said, fidgeting with her nightgown.

"Ah…" An embarrassed Issac said as he noticed she wasn't wearing anything but her nightgown for the first time. "Sorry. I'll see you at breakfast then," he told her while swiftly getting up and heading for the door to hide the blush that was creeping across his face at a rapid pace.

The door closed after him and Mia lay back in bed, letting out a sigh of relief that the conversation was over._ I feel awful for lying to him but it was for the best right?_ Mia thought to convince herself. _If Issac loves Jenna then that's the way it is and I shouldn't try to interfere with that. I can just be his friend right? _She held her hand up in front of her face and looked at the pretty ring Issac had bought for her back in Lalivero. _It seems so long ago already…_she sighed. _Ah, but I shouldn't keep him worrying…_Mia knew. She gave herself another minute to lay there before pulling on her robes and going out to greet the others.

...

Later that day the group of adepts were sailing for the northern reaches after discovering their ship now had psynergetic wings courtesy of Master Hamma. Floating above the ocean on a ship that could fly was a first time experience for all of them and they practiced controlling speed and altitude with their psynergy.

Most of the party seemed to be enjoying themselves but the mood of a few were slightly off. It didn't take Jenna long to notice that Issac wasn't being his usual self and she wasted no time in pulling him aside to find out what was going on.

"Hey Issac," she said to him.

"Oh hello Jenna. What's up?" was his reply.

"Come over here and talk to me for a second," she told him as she grabbed his arm and led him off to the side of the ship. Issac gave her a bewildered look but sat down on a barrel next to her and waited for her to speak. "Now tell me what's wrong," Jenna said.

"Where is this coming from Jenna?" he asked her in response.

Jenna sighed before turning back and watching as Ivan and Piers tried to steer the ship to the left and actually got it to change direction without much incident. "Come on Issac," she finally answered. "It's obvious to anyone that you aren't acting like your usual self."

Issac looked at her for a moment. _Do I really want to discuss this with her right now?_ Jenna looked back to him and patiently waited for his response. Issac sighed. _I am worried about Mia and if talking to Jenna gives me even the slightest chance of figuring out what's going on I might as well._

With his mind made up, Issac finally spoke. "Can promise me not to talk about this to anyone else Jenna?"

Jenna looked at him curiously but gave her response: "Sure Issac. If that's what you want."

"I'm just worried about Mia…" Issac began. He turned his head to watch the blue haired girl assist Ivan with her psynergy. A few seconds later Mia turned towards Issac and Jenna, but seeing that they were looking in her direction, she hurriedly turned away and started speaking to Ivan and Garet.

Jenna smiled at the reaction, but kept her thoughts to herself. Issac continued to speak: "Anyway, this morning when I woke up, she was extremely down about something and I couldn't figure out what it was. She told me she was still coming to terms with lighting the lighthouses instead of preventing them from being lit but I don't know…It didn't sound quite right to me."

Jenna looked back to him. "Honestly Issac, I'd just give her some time. Finding out that everything as she understood it was wrong probably did come as a big shock to her and that's not something you can get over in a day. Hell…when I found out Felix and our parents were alive…" Jenna shook her head slowly. "That's not the kind of thing you can get over in a day. I think Mia might be going through a similar experience," she explained to Issac with a smile.

"I suppose you're right…" Issac replied as he began to watch Mia again.

Jenna smiled mischievously as she watched Issac and decided to test a new theory she had just come up with. "Don't worry Issac. If you just give her a bit of time I'm sure she'll be back to the Mia you like," she said and nudged Issac slightly with her elbow for emphasis.

That got Issac's attention. His face turned red as he understood the meaning and turned to Jenna, tripping over his words trying to respond. "What- What are you talking about Jenna?"

Laughing at his inability to answer her, Jenna stood up and said, "Oh nothing! I'm going to go back and join the fun." She ruffled Issac's already awry hair and ran off to try her hand at flying the ship, leaving a very embarrassed Venus adept behind.

…

Later that night after the novelty of a flying ship wore off and the group of heroes had exhausted their supply of psynergy, Issac found himself in his room unable to sleep as he recalled memories from his journey so far.

_We've met so many different people, been to so many interesting places, and witnessed so many weird events. _Issac smiled as he thought back to the early days of the journey when it was himself and Garet against the world. _Looking back we were so inexperienced…so not ready for what lay ahead. But then we met Ivan. I still remember how he learned everything that happened to us in a few seconds by reading our minds…it was impressive but it freaked us out at the time._

_With Ivan on the team we felt unstoppable, but nothing could be further from the truth. I may have had the ability to heal, but it wasn't until we met Mia that we knew what a true healer was capable of ._Issac rolled over onto his back. _I can't even imagine trying to fight Saturos on top of that lighthouse without her._ _I'm pretty sure she's saved my life more than a few times, _Issac remembered fondly.

Issac rolled over to look at the empty bed next to him and sighed. _That's right, she's got watch before me tonight…Ahh…I haven't had a chance to talk to her much recently and it's not like I'm falling asleep right now anyway. Maybe I should go keep her company…_

Issac lay in bed for a few more minutes before making his decision and getting out of bed. Throwing on his scarf and jacket, Issac walked out the door of his room pausing only long enough to grab his Gaia Blade form its spot on the wall. He quietly headed up to the deck, being careful not to accidentally wake anyone up on the way. Stepping onto deck, Issac made his way over to where Mia was standing by the railing. "Hey Mia," he said softly.

Mia must have been deep in thought because she turned and regarded Issac with surprise. "Issac?"

"Yep, that's me," he said with a smile. "What…did I look like someone else? A scary monster attacking maybe?"

Mia giggled and turned red as she tried to figure out a reply. "No…that's not what I meant. I was just so caught up in my thoughts I didn't know you were here until you said something," Mia told him.

_Ah…that laugh of hers is so cute. It's a shame she hasn't been laughing much recently…_Issac thought.

"Issac? Hello…?" Mia waved a hand in front of Issac's face to get his attention.

"Ah! Sorry," Issac said as he snapped out of his trance. "I just zoned out there for a second," he explained sheepishly.

Mia shook her head. "I noticed," she said with a smile. "So what brings you out here early? Your watch isn't for another half hour."

"What? You'd rather I be sleeping?" Issac said, acting hurt.

He was rewarded with another giggle as Mia answered. "Of course not. I enjoy talking to you," she told him. She stepped away from the railing and sat down on some nearby steps. Mia was delighted when Issac followed her example and sat down next to her. "So why couldn't you sleep Issac?" Mia asked him.

_Just as perceptive as always. _Issac smiled at her. "I was just reminiscing about our journey so far. We've experienced so much together."

Mia looked up at the night sky. "Yeah, we have. It seems like it all started years ago…"

Issac chuckled. "I know that feeling Mia. Sometimes I feel like I've been friends with you and Ivan all my life."

Mia blushed slightly as she heard those words. _He really considers us to be that close?_ _That's sweet but…_

Issac leaned back and sighed. "Hey Mia, do you remember Xian?"

"Of course," she replied. "That's where you got me my silk dress," she commented nonchalantly. "Ahh…not that that's why I remember it though…" she added quickly as she blushed in embarrassment.

Issac just laughed and said, "I remember how peaceful that town was. I'm glad we got to stop there on our journey."

"I especially liked the flower gardens," Mia recalled as memories started flooding back to her. "They had some really pretty purple flowers there," she sighed happily.

The two passed the time together speaking about all the fun times they had in all the towns and villages they visited as well as the tough times such as crossing the Karagol Sea and fighting a Kraken, or running from whirlwinds in the Suhalla Desert.

A few hours passed and eventually the pair was interrupted when Jenna came out on deck to take her shift. The redhead walked up to both of them and greeted them before sitting on a barrel near the stairs. "So what have you two been up to this whole time?" she asked them with a mischievous smirk.

Neither adept picked up on it and Issac answered her normally. "We were just talking about all the random adventures we've had on our journey so far," he said. "Hey, now that you're out here, why do you tell us about what happened after the Venus Lighthouse Jenna? I'm sure you have some stories to tell," Issac pointed out.

_I should give them some privacy, _Mia thought as Issac finished addressing Jenna. "Ah…Goodnight you two. I'm going to bed," Mia said as she stood up and tried to take a step past Jenna.

Jenna reached out an arm and stopped her from leaving for a second. "Oh come on Mia, I just got out here. Sit and talk for a little longer why don't you?"

Mia looked back at Jenna and Issac before Issac also spoke. "Yeah Mia, why are you leaving so suddenly?" he asked her with a confused expression.

"I was just trying to give you two some time alone…" Mia said slowly.

Jenna just looked at her before saying, "Wait what….?"

Realizing that they were genuinely confused, Mia decided to spell it out for them. "I thought I'd give you two some time to spend with each other. Aren't you...like a couple…?" she asked meekly, turning red in the face while doing so.

Issac and Jenna blushed slightly while giving Mia an incredulous look. Then Jenna burst out laughing. "Haha, seriously Mia? You thought that Issac and I…." she stopped speaking and let her laughter die down as she let Issac speak.

"I think you misunderstood something Mia…Jenna and I are just friends," Issac explained hesitantly.

Mia's stomach did a flip at those words, but she remained baffled.

"But what was…." She started to say before trailing off.

"What was what?" Issac asked her, still completely confused as to how this conversation was even taking place.

"I'm sorry," Mia said. "I really didn't mean to see….I guess what I'm trying to ask is what about that night in Contigo? Jenna, you….kissed Issac and…Issac didn't you say you loved her?"

Issac's face turned deep red while Jenna found a new reason to laugh. "So you saw that," he said simply.

Mia nodded with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry. I was just coming out to check on you Issac, but I ran into that scene and well…."

Issac just sighed. "Well this is embarrassing…I guess what you have to understand is that we've known each other our whole lives," he explained to Mia. "Especially after the accident 3 years ago when we thought Jenna's family was killed and she moved in with us, she became like the sister I never had." Issac looked down at the deck for a moment before continuing. "Jenna just sort of became part of my family and so I love her the same as I love anyone else in my family. She can be a bit crazy at times though."

It was all Mia could do to stand still listening to everything he was saying while masking the elation she felt at hearing those words. _That still doesn't explain the kiss though…_Mia turned to Jenna and opened her mouth, but Jenna held up a hand to silence her.

"You're going to ask me about the Kiss," Jenna said. Mia blushed a little deeper and nodded in response. Jenna laughed and said, "I liked Issac's explanation so let's just say I love my brother." She hopped off the barrel and quickly kissed Issac on the cheek before sitting down next to him on the steps. "See? No big deal," she said to Mia.

Issac blushed at the action and decided to retaliate for it. "So if it's no big deal why haven't you kissed Garet yet hmm?" he murmured to Jenna.

At the mention of Garet, Jenna's face flushed a deep red and Mia's eyes widened at her reaction. _Jenna and Garet…? _Mia thought. Jenna pushed Issac off the step before turning to Mia.

"Oh, Mia my dear…" Jenna said with an overly sweet voice. "I'd be quite obliged if you forgot you heard that just now."

Mia looked at Jenna and smiled. "Don't worry Jenna, your secret is safe with me," she told her.

Jenna let out a dramatic sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. It would do my heart ill if I had to silence you myself. Now why don't you two lovebirds run along? You've already done double shifts each and it wouldn't be good to have you both sleep deprived tomorrow."

Issac and Mia blushed at her words and avoided each other's gaze for a few moments before an embarrassed Mia spoke up. "Uh…yeah, you're right Jenna. I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight," she said before turning and heading for the cabins.

"Goodnight Issac," Jenna said loudly, pushing the poor boy towards Mia.

"Yeah, goodnight Jenna," Issac responded before heading inside with Mia.

Issac and Mia walked back to their room together in silence, both too embarrassed by the conversation with Jenna to say anything at all. As they reached their room, they both walked over to their beds and laid down on them.

"Sorry about Jenna…she's just kind of like that," Issac finally said.

"That's all right," Mia replied with a smile.

"Well goodnight then Mia," Issac called out to her.

"Good night Issac," Mia replied.

_That entire conversation was really embarrassing, but I'm glad it happened, _Mia thought, feeling her cheeks flush red as she stared at the ceiling. _Thank goodness it's dark in here and Issac can't see my face…_Mia closed her eyes.

_So they're just friends…_Mia thought as she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

It was a warm afternoon on the continent of Gondowan for Issac, Mia, and the rest of the adepts as they stopped to take a break from all the traveling they had been doing recently. After finding the northern reaches walled off by a massive structure of ice, the group backtracked to the town of Loho where they found a cannon capable of blasting through it…if only it had something for ammunition. Therefore, the adepts were headed for "Magma Rock," to search for a so called "magma stone" that could be used to fire the cannon.

The secluded lakeside by the path was a pleasant surprise for the group of exhausted adepts and it didn't take long for Garet to suggest they rest at it for a little while. Garet, Jenna, Ivan, and Sheba wasted no time hopping into the lake to cool off and relax a bit. Felix and Piers watched from the shoreline while Issac lay on the sand staring at the sky.

Mia was resting in the shade of a large tree while watching the rest of her friends. She watched Ivan push Garet into Jenna, who was floating peacefully on the surface of the water. Mia smiled as she watched Garet's anger at Ivan rapidly fade when Jenna started threatening him with her wrath for disturbing her. _It's moments like this that I'm glad to have everyone as my friends_ Mia thought while absentmindedly twisting the ring on her finger. Mia sighed and leaned back against the tree, shutting her eyes. _It's nice to get out of the heat, if only for a little bit. It'll be plenty hot inside Magma Rock I'm sure…_

Issac turned to take a look at Mia and saw her napping peacefully under the shade of a tree some twenty feet away. Issac smiled. _She must be really tired today, but she looks so cute while sleeping. _Issac felt a blush on his face and turned back to his other friends while shaking his head to get rid of the thought. Picking up a stick laying near him, Issac began to doodle in the sand.

Eventually the time came to get moving again. Jenna, Garet, Sheba, and Ivan were dried off and got back in their traveling clothes. Issac picked up his Gaia Blade and glanced over at Mia who was still resting against the tree. He shook his head with a smile. _Still asleep are you Mia? I suppose I'll have to wake you up then…_Issac made his way over to Mia and knelt down next to her. He gently tapped her shoulder and said, "Hey…Mia."

Mia felt the tap on her shoulder and yawned as she awoke from her nap. _Was I daydreaming about Issac again…? _Blinking her eyes, she looked ahead as Issac's face came into view and she felt her face flush immediately. "Ah…I dozed off?" Mia asked to hide her embarrassment.

Issac smiled at her. "You did. It's time to go now though. Sorry I had to wake you up," Issac said.

Mia looked at him and returned his smile. "No problem. Thanks for waking me," she replied.

Issac offered a hand and helped the blue haired girl stand up, but his hand brushed against the ring she was wearing as he did so. Looking at it, he recognized the aquamarine and bronze design immediately. _She still wears that? _Issac wondered to himself. _I'm glad she liked it so much._

Mia's voice cut into his thoughts. "Ah…Issac?"

"Hmm?" Issac responded, his gaze still on the ring.

"I can't pick up my stuff like this…" she said with an embarrassed tone.

Issac did a double take when he realized he was still holding Mia's hand and immediately dropped it. Issac blushed a deep red as he apologized. "Ah…I'm sorry Mia. I ummm….I was just distracted by your ring. I was surprised to see you still wearing it…"

Mia blushed a little deeper and she put her other hand over the ring as if she could hide it from him. Realizing her foolishness, she replied to Issac. "Of course I still wear it," Mia told him, smiling shyly. "It's one of my favorite possessions," she added in a soft voice while avoiding Issac's gaze.

Issac didn't know how to respond to that, so he picked up Mia's mace and handed it to her before smiling and saying: "I'm glad you liked it so much."

Mia accepted her weapon from him and indicated the other adepts that had mercifully not seen anything that just happened between them. "Shall we join them then?" Mia asked Issac.

Issac nodded and they walked over to join their friends.

…

Magma Rock was just as hot as the adepts imagined. It had taken a little under an hour to travel to the rock from the lake they had stopped at earlier. After a grueling climb on the exterior, the group moved to the inside, solving puzzles and avoiding traps to advance closer and closer to the center of the rock.

_We have to be nearly there, _Mia thought as she triggered one of the nearby statues with her psynergy to open up the way ahead. She had already shed the heavy Imilian robes she usually wore in favor of the lightweight silk dress from Xian to try and keep cool. _This heat is oppressive. _Mia looked around at her friends to see how everyone else was doing. _Jenna and Garet look fine, no surprises there. Being Mars adepts, they're a little better suited to this than the rest of us. Piers looks like he's struggling a bit. Ivan and Sheba don't look so great either. Looks like Issac and Felix are keeping up decently though._

"Water?" Issac asked Mia when he noticed she was slightly weary.

Mia looked up at him and accepted the cool drink from him and took a sip before handing it back. "Thanks Issac," Mia said with a smile as they climbed up another set of steps and entered a new room.

This one was large with many statues along the edges. Garet poked his head around a corner and leapt backwards as a fireball rocketed past his face, crashing into the wall behind him. "Woah there! Be careful guys, there's no telling which statues are traps and I'm sure nobody wants to get incinerated," Garet warned everyone.

A statue across the way shot a fireball at Felix, who noticed it and intercepted it with a wall of stone before it could do any harm. Another one came racing at Ivan who deftly dodged out of the way, calling upon a Djinni to move faster. Piers narrowly avoided a fireball moving in his direction and shouted out to the rest of the adapts, "We've got to get out of this room!"

Mia raced towards the door along with everyone else but noticed a fireball headed for Issac out of the corner of her eye. She stopped and drew upon her powers to create a wall of ice to protect him. The fireball hit her wall and dissipated, but Mia failed to notice there was now a fireball coming at her from behind.

With no time to spare, Issac leapt into Mia and pinned her against the wall with his body as a fireball raced by them, scorching Issac's back. Luckily he avoided most of the impact, though the fireball did leave a few burns. Mia felt Issac take a step back from her and could see that a grimace of pain on his face. Taking control, Mia grabbed Issac's hand and helped him the last 10 meters to the doorway and relative safety.

Once inside, they both collapsed to the ground with the other adepts. "You two all right?" Sheba asked them as they came through the door.

Mia nodded and replied, "I'm fine but I think Issac got burned. Give me a minute and I'll heal him up."

Piers was breathing heavily but choked out, "I can't afford to be running around in a place like this where the air itself seems to burn your lungs." Felix and Sheba both nodded in agreement while gasping for breath.

Mia took a look at Issac's back and saw that some of his clothing had been burned away and the skin underneath was an angry red color. _This is worse than I thought…_Mia realized. Being as gentle as she could, Mia laid her hands over the burned skin and channeled her psynergy to help it heal.

Issac visibly relaxed as the healing powers mended his skin and he turned towards Mia slightly. "Thanks," he told her.

Mia just smiled. "Thanks for the save back there," she replied.

"No problem," Issac just shrugged it off and stood up as the rest of the adepts finished catching their breath. The group continued to move through rooms until they finally found what they had come for: The molten rocks sitting in a pool of lava in the middle of the volcanic mountain.

Hopping over the lava pool, Garet picked out a rock with an extremely strong glow to it. "This is it guys!" he exclaimed.

Glad to be done with the endless rooms of lava and fire, the group breathed a collective sigh of relief as Garet and Jenna prepared the rock for transportation. It didn't take them long to get out of Magma Rock when they were finally ready to go.

The group was glad to be out of the smothering heat and on their way back to the ship; however it was getting dark so the adepts decided to set up camp shortly after leaving the place. After setting up their tents and heading to sleep, Issac was left alone on watch with Mia, who decided she didn't feel like going to sleep just yet. The temperature was dropping rapidly and both adepts wore heavy clothes to keep away the cold.

As they talked to each other, Mia noticed that Issac had something on his mind that was bugging him and pointed it out. Issac just shrugged and learned back against the tree they were sitting under. "The end of our quest is actually in sight now you know," Issac explained. "I guess I'm just wondering what happens next."

Mia looked at him for a moment before responding. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Issac sighed and looked at the ground before replying. "Well…I guess I'm just wondering what everyone's going to do afterwards. I suppose I'll probably end up going back to Vale but…what about everyone else? Do you have any idea what you're going to do when this is all over Mia?"

_That's not something I've really ever considered…_Mia realized. "It's not really something I've thought about I think. I guess I never really thought that this whole adventure might end someday. I don't know what I'll do…" Mia told Issac. _Naturally I should return to Imil but…I don't want to have Issac disappear from my life…_"It would be sad if we all just went our separate ways. I'd miss you…and everyone else," she added hastily while blushing a slight pink color.

Issac gave her a sad smile and said, "Yeah. I've made so many friends on this journey. I don't want to just part ways…" Mia offered a nod of understanding and the two fell into silence.

"Hey Mia…" Issac said with an uncertain look.

"Hmm…?" Mia replied, turning to face him.

"Do you…Do you have to go back to Imil immediately when we finish lighting the beacons?" he asked her.

Mia thought about it for a minute. "No. Probably not," she said. "The Hermes Water should keep the town healthy and I did teach Justin and Megan well…"

"Mia. What would you say if I asked you to come visit Vale for a little while?" Issac asked as he stared off in another direction, waiting for her to say something in response.

Mia's heartbeat quickened slightly as she realized what he was asking. _Oh Issac…I would love to… _"I think it would be nice to see your hometown Issac. I'd like to if it's not too much trouble," she said modestly.

Issac scratched the back of his head in embarrassment but met her gaze and said, "Ah…it would be no trouble at all. It would be nice to have you around."

Mia blushed at his words and just said, "Yeah…After meeting all of you I'm not sure I could just go back to my old life again."

At this point the stars were beginning to come out and Mia looked up to admire them. Mia shifted herself slightly closer to Issac and laid her head on his shoulder saying, "The stars are really pretty aren't they?"

Issac was surprised by her action but certainly didn't mind. He put an arm around her and looked up at the stars as well.

"Yes, they are."


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

The frigid air of the Northern Wastes was colder than anyone thought possible. Issac's breath was visible as a white cloud as the group of adepts walked through the town of Prox. At first, Issac's group was worried about how they would be received due to the fact they had fought and killed Saturos and Menardi, two of the town's heroes, but Felix's endorsement was enough to convince the town Issac was on their side.

The snow fell in never ending sheets and it was all the townspeople could do to keep the walkways clear enough to walk through. _Life here seems harsh…_Issac thought as he watched the few Proxians they saw go about their business in fur coats and heavy clothes. _I can see why they were forced to light the lighthouses. If it gets any colder up here the entire place would probably just freeze over._

Felix led them to a man name Puelle and another man called only "The Elder of Prox" and explained to the party that together those two people are in charge of the town. The two elders welcomed the adepts and explained the current situation to them. Agatio and Karst went to light the lighthouse but it's taking longer than expected. They've been gone for a few days now and the town is starting to worry about what happened. Felix explained to the elders that the group of adepts are headed for the lighthouse as well to ensure the beacon gets lit. Puelle was delighted to hear that they had come to help light the beacon and made sure to warn the group that the lighthouse was about a day's journey through the thick snow out in the wilds.

Unfortunately the adepts would have to camp out near the lighthouse because it would be impossible to reach it and scale it in a single day. It certainly wasn't an ideal situation, but they just didn't have any other option. Without time to waste, everyone picked up some last minute supplies from the villagers in Prox before heading out into the frozen lands of the north.

…

Later that evening, the group of adepts found themselves trudging through knee deep snow, slowly making progress towards the Mars Lighthouse looming in the distance. They had left Prox behind hours ago and though the actual distance of the lighthouse was not very far, the inhospitable, snowy terrain brought their pace to a crawl.

_Who thought walking could be this exhausting?_ Mia wondered as she focused on minimizing the distance her foot sank into the snow with each step. As she looked around, it was clear that the rest of her friends were just as tired and that the group would have to stop soon. It didn't help that the sun was already beginning to dip down below the horizon, limiting their already short range of vision. Mia could feel the wind cutting through her heavy robes with its chilling touch. The relentless fog of white snow caused the exposed skin on her face to turn a slightly reddish color. With the temperature dropping quickly, the group needed to find a place to set up camp soon. _I didn't think that the temperature could drop any lower, but it's going down quite quickly, _Mia mused.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Issac pointed out a grouping of trees not far from the base of the lighthouse. "That looks like a decent place to set up camp," he said. "We don't want to be too close to the lighthouse and have to worry about the creatures inside, but the trees will provide us with at least a little shelter from the snow and wind." Felix agreed that it was a sound idea and the adepts began to set up tents in what little shelter the trees provided them.

"No watches tonight," Felix said as everyone was working. "We haven't seen a single monster in this entire place and we're not close enough to the lighthouse for anything to come out and attack us. Let's all just stay as warm as possible and get as much sleep as we can for tomorrow." The weary adepts nodded at his words and went back to fixing up their camp.

After finishing with the tents just as darkness hit, all the adepts huddled inside them and tried to sleep off the exhaustion of the day. However, sleep did not come easily to Issac or Mia as they fought against the cold.

_These heavy robes only help so much, _Mia thought, pulling her blanket tighter around herself. She looked over to see how Issac was doing just to see him staring back at her with a frown.

"Too cold Mia?" he asked with concern, holding out a blanket for her to take.

Mia smiled. _That's sweet of him, but I know he needs it just as much as I do._ "Thanks Issac, but I'll be fine. You need to keep yourself warm too," she replied.

"Honestly I'm more worried about you Mia," Issac said as he moved closer to her and draped the blanket over her shoulders. Mia was touched by his blunt honesty and the extent to which he obviously cared for her as he wrapped the blanket around her, causing her to blush slightly. Issac looked at her with concern and placed a gentle hand on Mia's forehead. "Your face is quite red and you feel extremely cold, all you sure you're all right Mia?" he asked.

Mia's face flushed further at the contact and she didn't answer until Issac retracted his hand. "Ah…I'm all right…" Mia managed to get out as she turned to face Issac. She took the blanket he had given her and leaned forward to wrap it around him, causing her face to come within inches of his as she did so. _All I'd have to do is lean forward a little further to kiss him…_she thought absentmindedly. As soon as Mia acknowledged the thought, she leaned back with a dark red blush on her face and looked away in embarrassment.

When she looked back to Issac, Mia noticed he was sitting quite still with a pink coloration on his cheeks while observing her hesitantly. After a few seconds Issac leaned forward and wrapped Mia in a hug, pulling her closer to him. Mia could feel the heat from his body as she allowed herself to relax in Issac's arms. She gave a content sigh as she lay her head against his shoulder and let him hold her, unable to think of what she could say to let Issac know how much that one simple gesture meant to her.

_That's not true,_ Mia knew. _There are many things I want to say to him. I want him to know how much I enjoy being with him, how much I care for him, and how much I want to continue to be with him. I want him to know that I love him…but those words just don't describe all of my feelings for him. _

Mia smiled as she realized that Issac had been gently running his hand through her hair in a gesture of comfort without her noticing. _Oh Issac…every moment of being with you brings me joy and every time you touch me, I can feel my heart pounding…even if it's only to cast a heal or help me in some other way. I wish I knew what he thinks of me…I know he considers me a close friend at least, but is it possible that he sees me as something more? I want to know…I want to tell him how I feel about him, but I can't. Why is it so hard…_

Issac smiled at the girl in his arms and broke her thought process when he spoke. "Hey Mia, you look like you have something on your mind," he said.

Mia looked up at the blonde boy with a content smile and replied with a half-truth. "I did. I decided I'm definitely going to go back to Vale with you when this is all over. I couldn't even imagine parting ways after all we've been through together." Mia gently placed one of her hands over one of Issac's and held it there to gauge his reaction.

Issac didn't mind this one bit and gave her a caring smile to say it was all right. "I'm so happy that you're going to visit Vale Mia. I would have missed you far too much if you had to head for Imil immediately," he told her.

Issac sighed and let his gaze wander to the entrance of the tent. _We still have to get through this final test before any of that can happen of course, _Issac knew. _I know we've always prevailed but I can't help but to wonder how difficult this last lighthouse will be. I have to protect Mia at all costs because I know I can't possibly live without her. She means too much to me to take chances._

"Now you look like you have something on your mind Issac," Mia said with a teasing smile.

Issac shrugged as he looked back at the girl he loved and admired the soft azure hair and sparkling blue eyes that he liked so much. Issac was so mesmerized by Mia that he spoke without realizing what he was saying. "I was just thinking about how beautiful you are…" he said in a soft tone of voice.

Mia was shocked at what she heard and it took a moment to fully register in her mind. _Issac just…he thinks…that I'm…?_

Issac, perhaps sensing that Mia was just as embarrassed as he was, took a deep breath. _It's now or never. I don't care if she has feelings for me or not, I have to let her know how I feel about her. I don't care if it could put our whole quest in jeopardy… if only slightly. I have to let her know what she means to me…_

Issac's face was totally serious and Mia could see a small twinge of fear in his eye and could not pinpoint where it was coming from. She shifted to get a better look at Issac as he spoke again.

"Mia. You're amazing you know," Issac said.

Mia looked back at him, both pleased and confused. On one hand, hearing Issac say something like that about her was a dream come true, but she also had no idea what prompted him to say it.

Issac explained further: "Mia, you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met. You're also the nicest, kindest person I know and just being with you comforts me because you always know what to say to cheer me up or boost my confidence."

Mia's eyes grew wide as she listened to what he was saying and what it really meant to her. Searching Issac's eyes and expression she found only a sense of sincerity. _Could it be…? _Mia caught herself thinking.

Issac gave her a sad smile before finishing the thought. "All those extra watches we spent together was because I love being with you. Even if this whole journey was a catastrophic failure it would all still have been worth it because I met you. Basically, I think you're perfect. You're like an angel to me." Issac broke eye contact with Mia for the first time since pouring out his feelings and sighed. "I know you're probably shocked at me telling you all this, but I figured that before this is all over I had to let you know how deeply I care about you. Even if you think this is weird or whatever I had to tell you…"

Issac was right. Mia was completely shocked and she was having trouble finding her voice, so she did the only sensible thing and leaned in to brush her lips gently against his, silencing any remaining doubts Issac had about telling her his feelings.

If Mia was shocked, then the kiss completely shattered Issac's world. That was just about the last thing he expected. As Mia's lips left his, Issac let himself fall backward onto the ground, just lying there for a few moments. "So it's like that then?" Issac asked her as he turned to the side to regard Mia.

"Mmhmm," Mia said with a blush. The mercury adept laying at his side giggled before saying, "You have no idea how much I've wanted to do that…"

It was Issac's turn to flush pink as he reached out and pulled Mia into another close embrace, kissing her softly on the cheek as he did so. "I wish I knew earlier," he said with a wistful smile.

Mia just answered him by snuggling up close to him and laying her arms on top of his as if to make sure they weren't going anywhere. She let out a small yawn that Issac picked up on and he smiled, gently moving some of the pretty azure hair he adored out of her face.

Both the adepts were exhausted and Issac knew Mia needed to get some rest too. "Sleep well Mia," he whispered softly in her ear, still holding her in his embrace.

"I don't think I'll have any problem with that," Mia murmured back happily before closing her eyes. As she felt herself drifting off to sleep, she let one more conscious thought through her head.

_Issac…now that I know how you feel about me…_

_I think I can be your angel._

* * *

I never actually planned to have either person confess their feelings in this chapter originally, but I think it just fit in so well with the flow of my writing when I was writing it that I had to have it happen then. No need to worry about that though, this isn't the end of the story quite yet. I have a few more ideas up my sleeve for what could be the final chapter and a possible epilogue sometime in the future. I guess you will just have to read and find out =)

How did you all like this (very important!) chapter? Leave me a comment and let me know!


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

Issac slowly opened his eyes and admired the blue haired girl still sleeping in his arms. He smiled as he recalled the events from the night before and how he had finally let Mia know all his feelings for her. Careful not to wake her, Issac stood up and laid his extra blanket over her body.

_Time to get ready for the day ahead, _Issac thought as he rummaged through his pack to find some stuff for breakfast. _I'm so unbelievably happy right now that it almost doesn't feel real…but I have to keep my focus today so we can finally finish this quest. Gosh, that's not going to be easy with everything that's happened…_

Issac left the tent and went outside, where he was greeted by Jenna and Ivan, who had somehow managed to start a fire to cook with in the snowy weather. "Breakfast?" Ivan asked him.

Issac nodded in response and said, "Thanks." Ivan handed Issac a plate and Issac sat down on a log near the small campfire.

Jenna looked over at Issac and commented: "You seem to be in a good mood today." Issac shrugged before she continued. "I guess you're just glad that our journey is almost over and we can finally go home," she said.

"I suppose that's part of it," Issac replied nonchalantly. Jenna looked like she was about to ask another question but she got interrupted by the emergence of Mia from the tents.

"Good morning," Mia told everyone as she got some breakfast then walked over to where Issac was sitting and sat down directly next to him, a lot closer than most people would consider comfortable. Jenna's eyes widened slightly but she refrained from commenting until Mia planted a quick kiss on Issac's cheek, causing the Venus adept's face to flush with color.

Jenna laughed and Ivan just muttered, "It's about dam time…"

"So how did this happen?" Jenna asked with a smirk.

Issac scratched his head sheepishly as Mia replied. "That…is a secret," she said with a happy smile. "Let's just say that Issac decided to tell me a few things that were very sweet of him," Mia explained as she interlocked one of her hands with Issac's.

Issac smiled and went back to eating breakfast as more of the group started emerging and talk shifted to the Mars Lighthouse and what was in store for them. Before long, the group had packed up and began to make their way toward the lighthouse.

…

Eight adepts stood atop the aerie of the Mars Lighthouse, staring at the unlit beacon. It was hard for any of them to believe that their journey had come to its end. "Wow, we did it…" Garet said breaking the silence that had descended upon the heroes. Felix took out the Mars Star and stepped forward to fulfill their destiny, but was suddenly halted by an invisible force and pushed back in line with his friends.

To the surprise of everyone, the Wise One appeared and admonished them for attempting to light the lighthouse beacons. Despite the arguments the group brought up to defend their actions, the Wise One's opinion would not be swayed. He revealed that Alex was attempting to harness the power of the Golden Sun for himself; however the group knew they had to remain steadfast and light the last beacon in order to save the world anyway. The Wise One decided to leave them with a small warning that a miracle might occur to prevent them from doing just that.

_That's some miracle…_Mia thought as she watch the three headed dragon land on the aerie between the adepts and the beacon. Instinctively the group spread out and took up battle stances, prepared to fight thier newest adversary. Mia's head turned to find Issac calling on his psynergy to back Garet up as he rushed in to attack. A bolt of lightning from Sheba crackled against the dragon's hide causing it to roar in pain and divert its focus to her.

A quick earthquake from Felix threw the monster off balance and provided an opening for Garet, who slashed at one of the beast's legs. The dragon counterattacked by shooting a torrent of fire at Felix who raised his shield to absorb most of the damage. Piers cast a healing spell to help Felix recover from the residual effects of the flame.

The dragon's tail swiped at Garet, but missed by inches as Garet dove out of the way. Mia cast an ice spell to try and slow the dragon, causing its attention to turn to her. A sharp claw came her way but was stopped a shield of Venus psynergy from one of Issac's djinn. Ivan conjured up a powerful tornado and sent it racing at the dragon while Jenna scored a direct hit with a cycle beam and followed it up with a slash from her blade.

At this point the dragon let out an angry roar and leapt up into the air. A few seconds later bright white light came racing toward the lighthouse aerie. Garet called upon his djinn Flash to protect the party, but the protective barrier couldn't stop the whole attack. Ivan, Piers, Garet, and Sheba got hit the worst and were knocked to the ground as the force of the attack hit them. Mia, Issac, and Felix immediately began to tend to the wounded as Jenna distracted the dragon that landed again with a massive blast psynergy.

With a bit of healing, Ivan and Piers managed to get to their feet and prepare for more combat, freeing up Issac and Felix to help Jenna while Mia and Piers took care of Garet and Sheba. Jenna stepped back to recover after stopping the dragon's blows singlehandedly and invoked her psynergy to restore her energy. Ivan used a Jupiter djinn to increase Issac's agility and watched as Issac ran into the fray with his sword ready to strike.

Issac dodged a bite and a claw before sinking his blade into the left knee of the dragon and ducking out of the way of the dragon's tail, as well as the fire it breathed at him. Felix cast a powerful Odyssey spell from behind the dragon to turn its attention away and allow Issac to escape.

The dragon roared and leapt into the sky again, causing the now familiar white light to form and rush toward the group. Without a second thought, Issac cast a barrier on everyone just before the white light hit, doing massive damage to the already injured group. As the light faded, only Mia, Issac, and Felix were still upright. Felix parried a blow from the dragon's claws as it landed but was knocked across the aerie by a tail swipe. Issac managed to get a good swing at one of the beat's heads, but failed to notice the tail swinging back his way to knock him to the ground. Fortunately Mia conjured a wall of ice to stop it just in time and spare Issac from Felix's fate. She followed up with a Freeze Prism attack and rained hail the size of boulders upon the dragon.

Mia dodged a torrent of fire aimed in her direction and turned to see a horrifying sight. Issac parried a swipe from one of the dragon's claws and counterattacked with his blade, but was caught as another claw raked his torso and pushed him out of the way. A heavily injured Felix jumped in front of Issac to prevent the dragon from finishing him off as Mia rushed to Issac's side drawing on all the healing psynergy she could muster and pouring it into the blonde boy.

_It seems to be working a little bit…_Mia noticed as the bleeding slowed. Issac looked up at her with gratitude but it was obvious enough he was in pain.

"The fight….It has to end….now…" Issac choked out, grabbing Mia's hand and transferring some of his power to her.

Mia felt a tear born of fear come to her eye, but ignored it and nodded at Issac, knowing exactly what he intended her to do. _It's a bit risky for everyone else, but we don't really have much of a choice, _Mia understood. Mia called upon her power as well as Issacs and channeled it together.

"Azul!" Mia yelled out, releasing the energy in a massive burst and watching as the form of a massive sea serpent appeared, bringing with it the wrath of Mercury and Venus combined. Using the last of her protective psynergy, Mia shielded her allies from the blast and hoped it would be enough.

The pure psynergetic serpent made contact with the dragon and exploded, causing the beast to roar in pain. Garet had finally managed to bring himself to one knee and cast a powerful heat wave to follow up Mia's summon and the dragon finally slumped forward onto the ground, defeated.

Mia breathed a sigh of relief at the dragon's demise before turning back to Issac and inspecting his injury more thoroughly. Issac looked up at her and asked, "How bad is it Mia?"

Mia just shook her head. "It's certainly no minor scratch, but it'll definitely heal." Mia helped Issac to his feet and put his arm around her shoulder to help support him. "Next time don't scare me like that though," she added with a meaningful look at Issac.

"Sorry Mia…That was a fantastic summon though," Issac said in response.

Mia smiled and looked around her as all the other adepts were getting to their feet, some shaken, some injured, but at least they were all alive. "I can't believe this is finally over," Mia said simply as Felix walked forward and cast the Mars Star into the beacon.

…

The next day, all eight adepts were headed for Vale along with Kraden, Felix and Jenna's parents, and Issac's father. As it turned out, the dragon they fought on the lighthouse was actually a trick of the Wise One and was composed of the energy of Felix, Jenna, and Issac's parents. Fortunately the lit beacon of the Mars Lighthouse healed them after the battle and finally reunited the children and parents after three long years.

The group was nearly at Vale after traveling on the flying ship together and an air of excitement hung around the adepts because their quest was finally over. Issac was lying on his bed in the cabin while Mia was sitting next to him, changing the bandages on his torso.

"It looks much better today," Mia said with a smile as she inspected the wound Issac received in their final battle on the Mars Lighthouse. She picked up some fresh bandages and after applying some healing psynergy to help speed up the process, Mia wrapped the wound back up. "You're all set now. It should be as good as new in a few more days," she told Issac.

Issac smiled and sat up and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek for thanks before standing up and offering her his hand. "Why don't we go join the others? Flying certainly gives us a nice view and we should be almost to Vale by now," he said.

Mia smiled and took Issac's offer, following him out to the deck where everyone else was enjoying the view of the countryside as they flew over. _It'll be nice to see Issac's hometown again, _Mia thought as she stared out over the landscape with Issac. _It's been a while since we were there and we only stopped by for a short time since we were in the area._

"It should be just around that mountain up ahead," Issac pointed out to Mia as everyone else began to join them near the railing in anticipation. As the ship rounded the mountain, Issac's eyes narrowed and a few exclamations of shock could be heard from the other passengers on the ship.

"Where is Vale…?" Jenna wondered looking out over the side of the ship where the small town should have been located.

Issac shook his head in puzzlement. "It's gone…" he said slowly and felt Mia's hand tighten its grip on his.

"Never mind that…Where the heck is Mount Aleph?" Garet asked incredulously. "I mean….how does an entire mountain just disappear…"

"I hope everyone from the town is okay…" Ivan added, voicing everyone's unsaid concerns.

"Set it down here Piers," Felix said calmly. The adepts felt the ship slowly descend to the ground as Piers complied with his request.

The mood on the ship turned somber as the adepts landed and disembarked near where Vale should have been. It was obvious that nobody had expected this to happen as the group moved up to the location of the missing town. It almost looked as if a massive earthquake had just destroyed everything in sight. The entire town was in ruins and the group could do nothing but stare at their former home with surprise.

"Ah, I knew that had to be you all," a voice rang out behind them. "Who else would show up in a flying ship…" the newcomer said.

Mia turned around with the rest of the group and saw Issac's mother who immediately noticed Issac's father, Kyle. Mia watched the happy family reunion with a smile and listened as Dora explained that everyone from Vale was safe in Vault and that they are starting plans to rebuild the town in a nearby area.

As relief spread through the group because the townsfolk were safe, everyone decided to head for Vault and get some well-deserved rest, however Issac had another idea.

"I'm going to look around Vale for a little while and I might spend the night out here," Issac told everyone. "I'll meet up with you all in Vault later. I just feel like visiting some of the places I used to go I suppose…" he added.

Some of the adepts looked like they understood the need to see his home again and accepted the statement.

"Do you mind if I come along then?" Mia asked Issac. "I'd still love to have you show me around even if there's not much left," she explained.

Issac smiled and shook his head. "Of course I don't mind Mia. You didn't even have to ask. I'd be happy to have you along," he said.

Issac's parents looked at Issac and nodded. "Just be careful son. We'll be in Vault. I think I should go pay a visit to some of our friends and let them know I'm back," Kyle told him.

Issac smiled before replying to his father. "No need to worry about me dad. As long as I have Mia along, there's no way I can get hurt," Issac said as he reached out and took Mia's hand, causing her to blush slightly at both the praise and his touch.

The two adepts said their goodbyes to the others for the day and made their way into what remained of Vale together.

They wandered around the town while Issac pointed out various locations and told stories of all his memories at those places to Mia. She laughed as he described the funny things that had happened, such as the time Garet got yelled at by his sister for accidentally crushing her flowerbed with his psynergy training, or when Jenna accidentally set her hair on fire and jumped into the river to put it out. The couple wandered around for a few hours until the evening came the sun began to descend over the horizon.

"There's one more place I'd like to show you Mia," Issac said, leading her up a small pathway surrounded by trees. "I hope it's still intact," he added as an afterthought.

A few more steps uphill brought them to a small clearing with a rock overhang above them near one of the waterfalls in the hills around Vale. "It's just how I remembered…" Issac said. "Looks like we're just in time for the sunset too," he added, sitting down with his back to the wall of rock.

Mia sat down next to him and learned her head against his shoulder as Issac put an arm around her. "It has a beautiful view," Mia commented.

"It does, doesn't it?" Issac said with a laugh. "I used to camp up here with Garet and Jenna sometimes when we were little. We'd always watch the sunset and be amazed every time…"

"I can see why," Mia said, giving Issac a smile. "I'm glad you showed this to me," she added.

They sat arm in arm and watched as the sun continued its lazy descent over the horizon. Mia snuggled up next to Issac and suddenly said, "Thanks for being there for me Issac."

"Hmm…?" Issac replied, turning to see Mia's pretty face looking up at him with happiness.

"You were always there for me on our journey," she explained. "Whenever I needed someone to talk to you always listened to me, whenever I was feeling down you always found a way to cheer me up, and if I ever got hurt you were always there to take care of me," she said.

Issac could only describe the look on her face as joy, but all he could think of was how adorable she looked. "Mia…" he began. "You know, you got me through all the hard times we had as well. It didn't take me long to realize you were someone special…and I don't mean the fact you probably saved my life at least a dozen times. I can't really explain it, but being with you was so calming and comforting. Before I even knew it, I began to see you as something more than a friend…"

Mia took Issac's free hand in hers, prompting him to continue speaking.

Issac paused to think about what he wanted to say before continuing. "I promised you that I'd eventually tell you what was on my mind that one night in Contigo when you found me in the snow…" Issac began to say. "Back then I knew exactly how I felt about you, but I tried to just push aside and bury my feelings…"

"That flower…" Mia absentmindedly murmured as she recalled the night that seemed so long ago.

"Yes, that flower you saw was a beautiful azure color…the same color as your hair," Issac explained. "To me it symbolized the girl I loved but couldn't ever tell…I didn't think it would be possible for a girl as amazing as you to be interested in me at all…yet here we are now…" Issac laughed as Mia blushed slightly. "It's really sad looking back on it. I didn't want to say anything for fear that it would ruin our friendship and possibly the whole quest, but it seems my concerns were unfounded…"

"Yes they were," Mia giggled, giving him a quick peck of affection on the cheek. "But are you trying to embarrass me with all your compliments?" she teased.

"Ah…That wasn't the intention…Though I certainly don't mind that they do," Issac said.

"Oh?" Mia asked, waiting for an explanation.

"Well you certainly look adorable when you're blushing," he told her with a sheepish smile.

At those words, Mia leaned in and gave Issac a proper kiss. When the two leaned back, both had blushes creeping up their faces. "Hmm…I think it makes you look quite handsome as well," Mia said to him in a matter-of-fact voice, trying to hold back laughter.

"Hey Issac?" Mia said after a few seconds of silence.

"Yes?" Issac asked.

"Let's camp out here tonight," she said simply, looking to see his reaction.

"If that's what you want, I'd be more than happy to," Issac said, kissing her gently on the cheek.

"It'll be like our whole adventure never ended," Mia explained. "One more night out under the stars together…I think it's romantic," she sighed.

Issac hugged her and let her lean back against his chest.

"You're right. This is perfect," Issac said. "I get to be here with you and there's nothing to worry about. No world to save, no lighthouse to light…this is how it should be."

Mia smiled as the sun finally disappeared completely over the horizon.

"Good, because I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." Mia replied. "I wouldn't mind just sitting out here with you forever…"

THE END

* * *

Well that's it. The story of Issac and Mia is now complete. I think I provided an ample amount of both combat and fluff in the last chapter to try and please everyone (though I have to admit after writing the chapter before this one it was extremely hard to go back to writing a combat scene). I quite enjoyed working on this story as a whole, however the bi-weekly update timetable was probably a little too much for me to handle with how busy I've been in life. I guess I managed to make it work though because I stuck to it outside of the few weeks between chapters 4 and 5.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my story and I'd love to hear from all you readers what you thought of it, so please leave me a comment and inspire me to continue to improve and write more mudshipping.

I'm toying with some ideas for an epilogue at the moment, however the story is officially complete at this point. If I do end up writing an epilogue it won't come out as soon as the chapters usually would. It may only be a week or so, but it could be a month or more so stay tuned!


	12. Epilouge

Here's a little bonus for those of you that find it. Enjoy!

* * *

EPILOUGE

It was a cold winter afternoon in New Vale a year after the lighting of the final lighthouse and a soft layer of brilliant white snow coated the ground, making crunching noises as Mia slowly made her way home. She basically lived here now, sharing the house that belonged to Issac and working in the town's sanctum, lending her healing powers to those in need of them as well as sharing her knowledge with the other healers. Healing minor injuries from construction accidents during the re-building of Vale was really nothing compared to the magnitude of injuries sustained by the group of adepts back when they had still been saving the world but she felt that she was contributing in her own small way.

Mia smiled as memories from their quest surfaced and she brought her hand up to admire the bronze and aquamarine ring she still wore and treasured. _I can't believe how long ago all of it seems already…_ Mia smiled, allowing the pretty gem to catch the sun's rays and glow with azure light.

She sighed as she remembered all the friends she had made and the separate paths their lives eventually took. All of the adepts had stayed for the first few months to pitch in with the rebuilding effort and to get the town back on its feet, but after that some of the adepts went their separate ways. Sheba was the first to leave, claiming she had to get back to Lalivero and assure Faran that she was well. To nobody's great surprise, Felix elected to accompany her and spend some time in the city they were forced to rush through while lighting the lighthouses.

Ivan had left not long after that to visit his sister and become re-acquainted with his only hereditary family member, making sure to pay a visit to Kalay on the way. Piers left at the same time as Ivan in order to return to Lemuria and bring news of the completion of their quest to his king.

Ivan eventually returned to New Vale to study alchemy under Kraden while Felix and Sheba stopped by to visit as often as they could. Jenna and Garet were still around and had finally admitted their feelings for each other after literally years of dancing around the issue. Mia smiled as she thought about the pair. _They were made for each other. Jenna's energetic and fiery personality perfectly complements Garet's bold demeanor…_

And then there was Issac. He was dedicated to helping to rebuild Vale as a way of apologizing for the damage caused by the completion of their quest and spent his days assisting in the craftsmen of New Vale. It had taken a while for the basic necessities the town needed to function to be built, but once they were, Issac and Mia had moved into Issac's new home together and had been living happily with each other over the months that followed.

Mia smiled, knowing that if she could be anywhere in Weyard she would have chosen this exact spot in order to spend her days with the boy she loved. The construction of New Vale was almost complete and though she had no idea what that meant for her, Mia knew she wanted to face the future with Issac at her side.

She finally reached the house and opened the door, calling out to Issac: "I'm home!"

Mia was greeted by a smiling Issac who appeared around the corner and wrapped her up in a hug saying, "Welcome back." She felt her body relax in Issac's arms as he kissed her softy on the check and asked her, "How was work at the sanctum today my angel?"

Mia giggled and rolled her eyes at the nickname he used, saying, "Thankfully nobody really got hurt today. I spent a lot of time speaking to Jenna and Garet when they came by to visit."

"Well that's nice. At least you weren't completely bored then," Issac said. "We finished up the house we were working on early so I decided to make dinner tonight. It's ready whenever you feel hungry," he told her.

Mia smiled and pecked him on the cheek saying, "Thanks. Let's eat then."

The two enjoyed a pleasant meal together while discussing the plans they had to visit Mia's hometown of Imil in the next few weeks and wondering what had happened in the lives of their other friends that had already left Vale a while back.

Issac explained that he had just a few more houses to work on before they took their trip and could finally spend some time together in Imil without the threat of the lighthouses looming over them.

The pair sat talking to each other about everything that had happened since the end of their quest, speculating about what all of their friends were up to these days, until the sun dipped below the horizon and it was time for bed.

Mia donned her favorite blue nightgown and slipped into bed next to Issac, who wrapped her up in his arms, holding her close. Mia felt comfortable and safe while in Issac's arms, just as she always had. _He's always been there to comfort me and protect me from harm,_ she knew. A serene smile graced Mia's face as her eyelids closed and she thought about the boy she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, who even now, held her in his loving embrace.

_Issac…_

_If you asked me to marry you…I'd say yes._

* * *

For those of you that don't know, I am continuing this story in a sequel called "The Water and the Earth Afterstory." For those of you wishing to read more it can be found under my profile. Enjoy!


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